A Stroll in Your Shoes
by Boogum
Summary: Ginny and Draco find out for themselves what it means to take a walk in someone else's shoes. /Revised Version/
1. The Nightmare Begins

**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise isn't mine.

**A/N**: When I first started writing fanfiction, I had three fics that I was writing: _Twisted_, _Where Two Paths Meets_, and this one here. While all three are very different, they are all equally special to me. It therefore seems only fitting to re-write this one too. I hope you enjoy it, and for those of you who have already read it, you are welcome to re-read it, as there will be some rather significant changes!

**The Nightmare Begins**

Ginny opened her eyes slowly. She frowned. It was not possible, but she thought she could hear male voices drifting around her dorm.

"You idiot, what do you think you are doing?" said an amused but clearly male voice, which sounded horribly close to her bed.

Ginny closed her eyes in an attempt to make the voices disappear. It didn't work.

"I'm trying to see if my butt looks big in this, if you really must know," said another male tiredly. "Millicent said my butt looked fat."

There was a laugh. "Crabbe, your butt always looks fat. You are fat."

Ginny breathed deeply. It was all just a horrible dream. It was not possible that Vincent Crabbe was in her dorm trying to determine whether his bum looked big or not. It was not possible that boys were even in her dorm.

She pinched herself and bit her lip as pain seared through her arm. Okay, it wasn't a dream, but clearly something wasn't right.

"Oi, Draco!" the laughing male called out. "Get your girly looking butt out of that bed and get dressed."

Ginny sat up with a jolt. "Draco?" she repeated, confused.

Why was this boy calling her Draco? Did they get hit with a _confundus curse_ or something? Then again, they were Slytherins, so it was plausible that they would be insane.

The curtains were pulled back and a handsome, tan face appeared before her vision. Ginny realised with a jolt that it was Blaise Zabini. His amber eyes narrowed in faint concern.

"Are you feeling okay, Draco?" he asked. "You look a little pale."

Crabbe snorted, while trying to disentangle his head from his robes—a difficult task it seemed.

"Well, paler than usual," Blaise amended, an amused glint coming to his eyes.

Ginny just stared at him blankly. Blaise Zabini was definitely insane. Only someone with mental problems would think that she was Draco Malfoy. It was just ridiculous, unless he was just trying to pull a prank?

She gazed past Blaise's smiling face to stare about the dorm. It seemed…different, somehow darker, and why were there green curtains around her bed?

Was this their idea of a joke? Trying to make her think that she was insane by calling her Draco and changing her dorm to resemble something from a Slytherin horror movie?

Blaise chuckled and stood up to look in the mirror, his hands giving his wavy, black hair an even more tousled look. "Draco, are you just going to sit there gaping like a troll or are you going to get dressed?"

Ginny slowly stood up out of the bed, suddenly feeling rather unsure of herself. It didn't help that her whole equilibrium was off. It was almost as if she were taller and broader than what she normally was.

A sickly feeling spread inside her. She quickly walked over to the mirror and stared at her reflection. Draco Malfoy stared back at her, though right now his cold, grey eyes were wide with shock, and his thin lips, for once free from his trademark sneer, were open in panic.

"This is not happening!" Ginny breathed, refusing to believe that the face in the mirror belonged to her.

"Uh, are you all right, mate?" Blaise asked. He looked genuinely worried at his friend's odd behaviour and seemed to have no idea that Ginny was the one he was talking to.

"I'm fine," Ginny answered weakly.

That was when she fainted.

**OOOO**

Draco smiled and rolled over in his bed. It was going to be a wonderful day, he could just tell. Sitting up, he pushed the covers off him and stepped onto the floor. For some reason he felt a lot shorter then normal. He shrugged, figuring it was because he had just woken up, and made his way towards where his drawers were normally kept.

That was when his brain finally registered one fact: he wasn't in his dorm. In fact, this room was so different from his dorm—with its red curtains and unmistakably girly atmosphere—that he couldn't help but wonder how he hadn't noticed it before.

"What the—"

He became even more shocked when a soft voice issued from his mouth that was nowhere near the deep masculine voice he was used to hearing.

"What's going on?" exclaimed Draco a bit more loudly, panic rising inside him.

A girl sat up from one of the beds. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, a clearly disgruntled expression on her face. "What are you doing, Ginny? I'm trying to sleep here."

Draco stared at her perplexed. Why the hell had she called him Ginny? Wasn't that the horrible she-weasel's name?

"My name is not _Ginny_," he retorted, again in that horribly girlish voice. It was actually beginning to frighten him.

"Fine, then. _Ginevra_, would you please shut up!" the girl snapped, and flopped back against the bed as she pulled her blanket up over body again.

Draco stared at the girl. She was clearly mad. Only an idiot would think he was a girl, and a weasel at that.

His stomach grumbled in protest as the morning hunger pangs began to kick in. Out of instinct, Draco looked down and was alarmed to find certain things distracting his vision; certain things that no male was supposed to have.

"I have boobs!" exclaimed Draco, clearly horrified at the knowledge that the two things he was used to ogling on pretty girls was now attached to his body.

He ran to the mirror and stared at his reflection. His face fell ludicrously at what he saw. A girl with brown eyes was staring back at him, a mixture of horror and surprise on her face. Her hair was a flaming red, and that alone should have told him what he was seeing, but he still had to take a moment to digest her elfin-like features and the damning freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks.

It just could not be true, and yet there was no other explanation for it. He was in the body of none other than that damned she-weasel.

Draco groaned. This was a nightmare.

**OOOOO**

Ginny blinked at the sudden vision swarming before her eyes. Blaise Zabini was leaning over her, a worried expression on his face. To her left was Vincent Crabbe, looking trollish and idiotic as normal, and on her right was Gregory Goyle, who wore an expression very similar to Crabbe's.

"Phew, Draco, you gave us quite a fright," said Blaise, helping Ginny to her feet. "You all right?"

"Umm, I'm fine."

The three boys just stared at her.

Ginny glanced around the room with a sinking heart. It was obvious that she was in Malfoy's body and had somehow ended up in his dorm with his friends. She needed to get out of here and find Malfoy without causing any suspicion—she hated to think how the boys would react if they found out she was not their friend—but the problem was that she really had no idea how Malfoy acted around his friends. Then there was also the question of where the real Draco Malfoy was hiding…

"Well, you'd better get dressed," said Blaise. "We're already late for breakfast and you know how Pansy _hates_ to be kept waiting."

"Uh, right," said Ginny stupidly. She realised she wasn't being a very believable Malfoy, but she was just so confused. Even Goyle was staring at her with a perplexed frown, though maybe he just always looked like a brick had fallen on his head.

"Draco?" prompted Crabbe, giving her his own concerned expression.

"Oh, right," said Ginny, blushing, and quickly walked over to Draco's drawers. She couldn't believe what she was about to do, but what choice did she have?

Ginny opened his drawers and pulled out his Hogwarts uniform. She threw it on the bed and then removed the loose shirt and pyjama bottoms she was wearing, trying desperately not to blush at the now very exposed body she was occupying, which wasn't her body at all.

_Malfoy definitely has been holding out on us. Who knew he would have such a hot body?_

_Oh crap, did I just think that? _

Ginny mentally scolded her brain for thinking such treacherous thoughts and quickly got dressed into the older boy's uniform. She looked in the mirror, again finding herself faced with the pointy, aristocratic features of Draco Malfoy. It was somewhat unnerving.

She hurriedly brushed her—his—blond hair and walked over to the group of Slytherin boys. Inwardly, she was cringing at the thought of facing the real Draco Malfoy after having just seen him practically naked. It was going to be very difficult to remove that image.

"Ready," she sighed.

"Good." Blaise smiled, and then paused as he stared at Ginny's hair. "Uh, you're not going to fix your hair?"

"What?" said Ginny. Why was he even asking her such a thing? It looked fine to her…

"Never mind," said Blaise, putting an arm around Ginny, whom he thought was his friend. "Come on. I'm starving."

He led Ginny out of the Slytherin boys' dormitory and into the common room, Goyle and Crabbe trailing behind them. It was rather different to what she had expected. There was an open fire, but it didn't give the same warmth the Gryffindor's cheery fireplace did. Of course, the décor was all in green and silver, and she noticed that there were a lot of black leather armchairs dotted around instead of the cushy sofas that her common room boasted.

Blaise abruptly pulled her through the concrete wall and led her off towards the Great Hall, chatting all the way. It seemed that Malfoy's friend, Blaise, certainly knew how to talk, and Ginny was finding it hard to keep up with his rapid conversation when she hardly knew half the things or the people that he was talking about. Her answers had consisted of "mmm" or "really?" most of the time, but he hadn't seemed to mind. Maybe Malfoy was always quiet?

Blaise suddenly stopped and looked at her, an unreadable expression on his face. "Are you sure you're all right? You've been acting so…odd."

"I'm just tired," Ginny hastily explained, hoping that Blaise wouldn't push the matter. These Slytherins were too sharp for their own good, or maybe she was just a terrible actress. In any case, the last thing she wanted was to be caught out as an impostor.

Blaise seemed to decide her answer was good enough and walked into the Great Hall. Ginny followed, automatically moving towards her usual seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Ready to taunt the Gryffindors already, Draco?" enquired Blaise, amused. "You know they aren't worth it."

She realised her mistake all too late. Crabbe and Goyle were looking at her expectantly, clearly thinking that she was about to give them a laugh at the Gryffindors' expense. Blaise seemed merely resigned, if a little bored.

Ginny found her gaze meeting Ron's and was surprised by the pure hatred reflected back at her. Really, she had to wonder how Draco even managed to say his insults whilst being confronted with such intense rage from her brother's blue eyes.

"Not now," said Ginny quickly. "McGonagall is watching."

Blaise nodded and pulled Ginny away from the Gryffindors' table towards his own, which had suddenly become very daunting to Ginny. She had to assure herself that they would never know it was her. After all, she looked like Malfoy. There was no reason for them to suspect that she wasn't the snooty boy.

Right.

She sat down, if a little tentatively, and began to spoon some porridge into her plate. The other boys began to chatter amongst the rest of their house, laughing and joking at the latest on-dits being discussed. Ginny was glad for the moment of peace, and was just beginning to relax, when a girl with black hair and rather hard, blue eyes sat down beside her.

"Good morning, Draco," said the girl, whom Ginny recognised as Pansy Parkinson.

Pansy would have been quite pretty—even with the pug nose—if it weren't for the expression of superiority that frequently occupied her face. There was no sign of that expression right now, though. The girl was merely smiling in what was supposed to be a seductive way, and Ginny suddenly felt a hand move up her thigh that she was quite certain belonged to girl next to her.

"Do you mind?" snapped Ginny, feeling more than a little uncomfortable at Pansy's close proximity.

"Mind what, Draco?" purred Pansy, sliding her hand up further until Ginny felt a certain part of her newly acquired, male anatomy awaken.

Ginny leaned away and looked at Pansy in horror. "What the hell are you doing, you pug-faced cow?"

The Slytherins guffawed at her statement, but Pansy flushed with outrage, her eyes narrowing into vicious slits. Ginny suddenly wondered if she had said the wrong thing. She hadn't really thought about what Draco would say in that moment, being too disturbed by the feeling she had received through Pansy's wandering hand.

"Is that anyway to treat your girlfriend?" asked Pansy in a dangerous voice, her eyes no longer shining with seductive promises, instead taking on the glint of outright rage.

"Girlfriend?" echoed Ginny, surprised. She had always thought Draco was single.

"Yes," said Pansy with false sweetness. "Girlfriend, or did you forget?"

Ginny just blinked. Out of all the girls in Slytherin, he had to go and choose the one who was as vindictive as she was pug-faced? Well, she had always thought Draco Malfoy had bad taste, but this was proof of it. Then again, maybe it was just for the benefits. Ginny had not forgotten Pansy's wandering hands.

"Sorry," said Ginny not very apologetically.

She noticed Blaise shaking with silent laughter across from her at the table. She couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking and why he found this so funny. Admittedly, Pansy looking so offended was rather amusing, but if he were Draco's friend, shouldn't he be at least somewhat surprised by '_Malfoy's'_ sudden behaviour?

Pansy glared at Blaise, who merely smiled at her with amusement, and then turned her dark eyes back to Ginny. It was somewhat unnerving to be faced by that cold expression.

"I hope you remember our date by the fountain tonight?" demanded Pansy, leaving no doubt that there would be consequences if her 'boyfriend' didn't.

"Of course, I remember," answered Ginny unconvincingly. She had no idea what Pansy was talking about, and, unfortunately, was not a good enough actress to disguise this fact.

Pansy narrowed her eyes even more until she looked positively malicious. "You'd better, Draco. Or else."

Ginny swallowed and tugged at her tie uncomfortably. Being Draco Malfoy suddenly seemed a lot more difficult than she had originally thought.

**OOOO**

Draco exited the Gryffindor common room and began walking towards the Great Hall, feeling rather disgruntled and torn by everything that had happened. Trying to put on a bra had been damn annoying, not to mention the fact that ever since he had attempted to put on said bra, he had become rather conflicted in his view of the youngest Weasley.

On the one hand, she was nothing but a disgusting, annoying she-weasel; on the other, she had a very nice body that he had just been able to admire and fondle to his heart's content. Shower time had never been so interesting to him before, and though he felt the tiniest bit of guilt at having taken advantage of the situation, he was male enough to feel that it would have been a waste of a good opportunity had he not.

Still, being Ginny Weasley was not pleasant, and the sooner he got out of her body, the better.

Draco glared at the other students out of habit as he walked down the corridor. It was too hard to think like a Gryffindor—he doubted they even thought at all anyway, impulsive twits that they were. Suddenly, a pair of strong arms snaked around his waist, and Draco had the horror of feeling the unmistakable touch of lips press against the side of his neck.

"What the hell?" yelped Draco, jumping in fright, before spinning around to see Harry Potter smiling at him. A sickening feeling filled his stomach. He had just been kissed by Harry Potter on the neck. Harry Potter had kissed him. Oh, Merlin, he was tainted now, but at least the kiss had not been on the lips…

"I missed you this morning," said Harry. "Why didn't you wait for me?"

Draco quickly darted out of the boy's arms before he was sent into uncontrollable shuddering. "What are you doing?" he hissed, shooting quick glances around the corridor to make sure no one had seen.

"What's the matter, Ginny?" asked Harry, emerald-green eyes clearly confused.

"You can't snog me in the middle of the corridor!" Draco improvised, not wanting to say the real reason for his behaviour while he was still trapped in the she-weasel's body. Besides, he was still trying not to be sick at the feeling of being kissed on the neck by another boy, let alone Harry Potter.

Harry laughed. "Since when did you become so self-conscious, Ginny? No one is going to see…"

Draco rolled his eyes. He was quite disgusted by Harry's lack of decorum.

"Keep your pants on, Potter. I don't want to miss my breakfast."

Harry blinked. "You know, you sounded horribly like Malfoy just then. What's up?"

Draco walked on in silence, hoping that ignoring the other boy would somehow make him disappear. Harry didn't seem to get the telepathic message to vanish, merely putting an arm around Draco's waist (who shuddered) and continued to walk with him down the corridor. The Gryffindor was just lucky that he could not see Draco's expression, for the young Malfoy was looking particularly murderous right now. Unfortunately, while occupying the body of Ginny Weasley, Draco found himself unable to do anything to stop the other boy's advances.

They entered the Great Hall together, Harry taking Draco's hand (who shuddered even more) and leading him to the Gryffindor table. Draco scanned the hall, eyes narrowing as he spotted Pansy talking to the Draco impostor, whom he figured was probably Ginny Weasley.

He watched the fake-Draco lean back in horror as Pansy said something. Draco sniggered, knowing exactly what Pansy would be doing. Clearly the she-weasel wasn't enjoying the attentions of his girlfriend, not that he had it any better with Potter.

There was nothing for it. Something had to be done.

**OOOO **

Draco was walking down the corridors later that day when he spotted a glimpse of familiar, blond hair just passing around the corner. He quickly followed, groaning aloud when he saw _his_ body start moving towards the girls' bathroom.

The she-weasel was obviously too stupid to realise that as a guy she could not just go waltzing into a girls' bathroom. He grimaced at what other stupid things she could have possibly done to ruin his reputation while controlling his body.

"Weaslette!" exclaimed Draco, grabbing her arm roughly to stop her from entering the toilet. "What are you doing going into the girls' bathroom?"

Ginny turned to face him and immediately let out a yelp of fright. He understood the feeling—it was odd to look at his own face from another's body—but right now he did not have patience for her to get her wits together and realise that she was staring at herself.

"My body!" she stated unnecessarily.

Draco reassessed his view of her as he rolled his eyes. She was obviously stupider than he had thought.

"Give me my body back, Weaslette."

"How?" responded Ginny. "I don't know how we got this way in the first place."

Draco felt his temper quickly slipping away from him. He was so tired of being in her body, and now the one person who he had been certain could help him had just admitted that she had no idea how to fix the predicament they were in.

"Well then you'd best start figuring out how," snapped Draco. "I've had enough surprises in your body, thank you, and if Potter kisses me one more time, I swear I'm going to kill him."

Ginny laughed in obvious amusement. "You let Harry kiss you?"

"He kept sneaking up on me. In any case, that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about. I want my body back!"

"I'm just as anxious to get my body back as you are, Malfoy, believe me, but I don't know how."

Draco scowled. "Well then we will just have to find a way. Clearly it isn't polyjuice potion, as it's been longer than an hour since I've been in your body."

"So what do you think it is that has happened to us then?"

"I don't know."

He had no idea how they could have possibly ended up this way, but what he did know was that he was not going to have his reputation ruined because Ginny Weasley was an idiot.

"Listen, Weasley. It seems like we are going to be stuck this way for a while, so I think we need to start taking this a bit more seriously. You need to start acting more like me and _not_ go into girls' bathrooms."

"Likewise, Malfoy."

"Then let's go somewhere and discuss what we are going to do. We can't stand in the middle of the corridor like this," said Draco, annoyed, and started heading off down the corridor.

Ginny sighed and followed him. "This is such a nightmare," he heard her mutter under her breath.

For once, Draco found himself agreeing with her.


	2. Keeping up Appearances

**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise isn't mine.

**A/N:** By the way, I wrote this before book 6, so while some things might be added in now that give spoilers for that book, a lot of things in this story don't coincide with HBP.

**Keeping Up Appearances**

Draco and Ginny walked into an empty classroom and sat down, Draco shutting the door behind them and locking it with his wand. Ginny took a seat, wondering how she was ever going to get Draco to act like her. Then again, judging by his less-than-amused expression (and she would know that expression well) she realised he would try, even if it was just to ensure that she did the same for him.

Feeling much more relaxed at having sorted that out, Ginny stared at Draco and waited for him to start the discussion that he had so huffily set up.

"First things first," he said sharply, taking a seat down opposite her. "You can't slouch like that."

"What?"

She hadn't even realised that she had been slouching.

"A Malfoy never slouches," said Draco in a haughty voice. "You have to sit up straight, and stop gaping at me like that. A Malfoy never shows when he doesn't understand something."

Ginny just stared at him incredulously. His eyebrow began to rise. She sighed and forced her body to sit up straight. "Talk about stiff," she muttered under her breath.

She knew he was rich, but did that really have to make him so uppity and pompous?

"Excuse me?" demanded Draco, eyebrow now fully raised.

"Nothing."

Draco stared at her piercingly for a moment, but seemed to decide to ignore the comment. Ginny had to be glad for that. She didn't particularly feel like getting into an argument with him already.

"Well, she-weasel," he began, voice still edged with ice. "The main thing you need to know while being me is that you are better than everyone. You do not admit when you are wrong, you do not help people, and you certainly do not notice people who are non-Slytherin, unless it is Potty, Weasel or the Mudblood; in which case, you must insult them. Oh, and Longbottom too. He makes good target practise."

Draco seemed to contemplate something. "I guess that's all for now. I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

"How can you act like that?" she asked disbelievingly. She couldn't believe that anyone could be so arrogant and cruel.

"Because I can," said Draco simply. "So what do I need to know to be a good she-weasel?"

Ginny glared at his choice of name, but knew that there was no point in arguing with him. She needed him to help her, after all.

"I don't know, Malfoy. It's kind of hard to explain myself. I guess the only thing I need to say is to be the complete opposite of yourself. Be nice to people, and don't insult Harry, Ron, Hermione or Neville."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You're no fun, but I'll do it."

"Good."

She stood up, quite glad to get away from him now that their meeting was over, but she knew that she couldn't avoid him forever. They had no choice but to work together now, and there was also the problem of how they were going to get their own bodies back.

"I guess we should meet during lunch at the library to see if we can find anything on what is happening to us," mused Ginny.

"Alright," he agreed, also getting to his feet. "Oh, and Weasley."

"Yes?"

"Don't you dare snoop around my stuff or you'll wish you were dead."

The thought actually hadn't occurred to her, and she felt slightly offended that he would think her low enough to snoop around his things in the first place.

"Like I'd really want to," she muttered, rolling her eyes, "but I guess that goes for you too, Malfoy. If you dare go through my stuff…"

Ginny trailed off, leaving it to his imagination to figure out what she'd do to him. To her surprise, Draco only laughed.

"Oh, and here I was looking _so_ forward to exploring your underwear drawer."

Ginny made a furious swipe to hit him, but Draco stopped her hand before she could make contact. She glared at him. He only smirked in response.

It was in that moment that Ginny decided that Draco Malfoy really was nothing more than an annoying prat.

"Tut, tut, Weasley," taunted Draco. "Aren't you forgetting that you are in _my_ body? You could do some serious damage to yourself if you hit me."

"Oh, shut up," snapped Ginny, and stalked out of the classroom without another word.

She had now decided that Draco Malfoy was not just an annoying prat; he was a supremely, annoying prat. Why she had to switch bodies with him was beyond her understanding, but every second in his foul body was driving her nuts.

The sooner they reversed this, the better.

**OOOOOOO**

"Hey, Ginny!" a girl squealed, running towards Draco. "Where have you been? I was looking for you after breakfast but I couldn't find you…"

"I was busy," said Draco, glaring at the bubbly blonde next to him. She reminded him of a chipmunk on drugs: all high-pitched and excited.

"What's with you?" the blonde asked, cocking her head to the side.

Draco reassessed his assessment. She was not a chipmunk, but rather an annoying, twittery bird. Maybe a canary.

"Oh, is it that time of the month?" asked the girl, when Draco continued to say nothing. "Poor you."

Draco's expression twisted with horror at the realisation of what she was implying. It was every teenage boy's nightmare to be inflicted with the talk of womanly problems. If this was what he was going to be subjected to in Weasley's body, he thought he might die.

"No, it is not that time of the month, you crazy wench!" snapped Draco, still revolted by the thought of the thing-that-must-not-be-named.

He suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be acting like Ginny, and quickly bit his tongue to stop any more retorts escaping. Calming himself down, he gave as nice a smile as possible. "I mean, I'm sorry. I'm just a little tired."

The blonde cocked her head again but shrugged, obviously deciding that it didn't really matter. "I guess. You did have a rough night last night."

Draco nodded his head, though he didn't have a clue what she was actually talking about. "That's right."

"Well, come on. We've got potions now!" said the twittery blonde, pulling Draco forcefully into Snape's dungeon.

He wondered how Ginny could possibly be friends with something as annoying and loud as this manhandling wench. Then again, she was a Weasley, and they had bad taste in everything…

Draco was surprised to find himself sitting in his usual chair. He didn't like the fact that he shared something in common with Ginny Weasley, even if it was something as trivial as a seat in a classroom.

Professor Snape tore into the room, the same fuming expression he always wore on his face, with his greasy hair flapping and hooked nose flaring like an angry bull. He turned his obsidian eyes on the class, a decidedly nasty smile coming to his lips—or what was left of them.

"Today we will be making a strengthening solution," said Snape in his soft, dangerous voice. "The instructions are on the board. You may start now."

The blonde sighed, no longer looking as animated as normal. "Trust Snape to give us a hard potion straight away."

Draco looked at her blankly. This was easy stuff compared to what he did in his classes, but then he supposed he was a year older. He was probably going to find it extremely easy in all of the she-weasel's classes, which wasn't such a bad thing when he thought about it.

Deciding that he would just get this over and done with, Draco set to work immediately. Snape wandered over and merely sniffed when he stared down at the Slytherin's solution, which was surprising, as Draco was rather used to the greasy-haired professor praising his work.

Snape turned his eyes to the blonde next to Draco and sneered. "Tell me, Miss Rosedale," he said softly, black eyes filled with contempt. "Did you even read the instructions?"

The blonde bit her lip, looking fearfully up at the Potions Master. Draco could see her hands trembling in her lap. She was obviously terrified of the man.

"I did read them, Sir."

"Then how is it that you have failed to add the most important ingredient?"

The blonde hung her head in embarrassment, her cheeks burning a bright red. "I'm sorry, Sir. I don't know how that happened."

"Your excuses are nothing to me, Miss Rosedale. This potion is useless."

He waved his wand, instantly vanishing the potion in the blonde's cauldron, and stalked off to breathe down other students' necks.

"That was totally unfair," exclaimed Draco, genuinely surprised by his Head of House's behaviour. "You could have easily fixed that."

The blonde looked up with tears in her eyes, her bottom-lip trembling uncontrollably. "He wouldn't have cared; he only helps the Slytherins. Look," she said, gesturing to Snape, who was now helping a weedy Slytherin fix his potion. "It's just not fair."

Draco's brow creased. He always found it funny that Snape despised the other houses and only liked the Slytherins, but being on the receiving end was a little different…

The class finished. Draco took his sample up to Snape, who merely looked down his hooked nose at the potion.

"Well, Weasley, it seems that you have somehow managed to create a potion that hasn't blown up in your face. I'm surprised, but it still doesn't reach standard."

Draco glared at Snape. He knew that his potion was perfectly fine, having done it before plenty of times last year. "This would give me an E at least," said Draco in outrage. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't talk back to me, Weasley," ordered Snape icily, his black eyes narrowing with intense dislike. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for your cheek, and anymore from you, and you'll have a detention as well."

Draco opened his mouth to retort, but a brunette with green eyes suddenly grasped his arm and tugged him abruptly away. He didn't even have time to express his frustration at always being dragged around like a rag doll, for the girl was already talking.

"C'mon, Oricarn is waiting for us," said the brunette, still dragging him.

Draco resigned himself to her manhandling and soon found himself faced with the twittery blonde from earlier. He assumed this must be Oricarn. Well, at least now she wasn't crying.

"He's so evil!" spat the brunette angrily, as soon as they were out of earshot from Snape's classroom. "He took away points just because Ginny's potion was good. Speaking of that, how did you get so good suddenly?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Draco. What was the big deal about his concocting a decent potion? Surely Weasley couldn't be that dumb?

"That's the first time you've ever concocted a potion that didn't melt your cauldron or blow up," explained the brunette. "I must say, Ginny, we were all quite surprised."

Draco's lips twitched. Weasley must be dumber than he had previously thought.

"I guess the studying helped," he said, smiling at now having proof of her idiocy.

The blonde smiled cheerfully. It seemed she was over Snape's rudeness to her. "I guess so. In any case, we'd better get to the North Tower. You know how Trelawney gets when we're late. I don't think I can handle her dark omens after just suffering through Snape."

"Too right," agree the brunette.

Draco followed the two girls, who were now gossiping happily about their batty Divination professor. He couldn't deny that he was feeling just a little worried. So far he had managed to convince her friends that he was Ginny, but another class pretending to be Ginny Weasley could be the end.

This was proving to be more trouble than he thought it would be.

**OOOOOOOO **

Ginny sat brooding over the mess of Transfiguration notes in front of her. She didn't have a clue what any of it meant. She had only just started on this kind of stuff in her own fifth year classes. Unfortunately, she knew that Draco was one of the more intelligent students in his form, so she could only hope that she could do him justice. The only problem was, she had never been particularly studious…

Blaise turned to Ginny with an amused look on his face. "Look at McGonagall through these," he whispered, handing her a pair of glasses that she had just seen Goyle wearing.

Ginny took the glasses from him and put them on a little apprehensively. She lifted her eyes towards McGonagall, and immediately had to stifle a giggle. The stern professor was unmistakably wearing tartan underwear.

It seemed that the glasses had been bewitched to make a person's undergarments show. She had to wonder where the boys had found them, though, in truth, she wasn't really surprised that they did have such an item in their possession.

Ginny took the glasses off and handed them back to Blaise. "Who would've thought?" she whispered. "Everything really is tartan with her. She really must have some Scottish pride."

Blaise grinned, but then his expression promptly shifted to one of deep concentration. Ginny turned her head to see McGonagall moving towards their table, and quickly tried to act as if she had not just been discussing the stern professor's underwear.

McGonagall peered at the badger that was still stubbornly refusing to vanish on Ginny's desk, one thin eyebrow rising slightly.

"Mr Malfoy, I would like to talk to you after class."

Ginny nodded and sighed as McGonagall walked off to tell Crabbe off for falling asleep. She was sure she was being held behind because she had been unable to vanish her badger, and wondered what she could possibly say to make things better. As much as she hated Draco, she couldn't make him fail his classes.

She glanced at Blaise, who was currently staring at the blackboard while tapping his quill absently on his desk. His eyes flicked towards her and a small smile graced his lips. She couldn't help but smile in return.

Ginny had been pleasantly surprised with Draco's friends. She hadn't expected the Slytherins to be so fun, but fun they were. Blaise was easy-going and always had a friendly word, Crabbe and Goyle—although notoriously stupid—were good for a laugh, and even Pansy wasn't _that_ bad when she wasn't trying to cop a sneaky feel under the table.

Really, Ginny had come to realise that all her preconceived conceptions about the Slytherins were completely ridiculous. They weren't cold or rude all the time; they were just teenagers like the rest of the students at Hogwarts, though there was that superiority complex…

"What are you gaping at, Draco?" asked Blaise, smiling. "I thought Malfoys never gawk at people."

Ginny collected herself quickly. "We don't," she said in what she hoped was an imitation of Malfoy's haughty accents, forcing a smirk in place.

Out of all of Draco's friends, Blaise was the one that she had to watch out for the most. The tall, raven-haired boy was very perceptive, despite his easy-going ways.

Blaise laughed softly. "Honestly, Draco."

The bell rang, signally the end of class. Ginny quickly said her goodbyes to the Slytherins, who promised to save her a good seat in Charms. Soon it was just McGonagall and herself left in the class. She sighed and waited for McGonagall to tell her off for not vanishing the badger, while still desperately trying to think of an excuse. After all, she couldn't very well say that she was only a fifth year and couldn't do this kind of magic yet.

"Mr Malfoy, are you even taking your education seriously?" Professor McGonagall began sternly, turning her hawk-like gaze on Ginny. "Your antics with Blaise Zabini are not going to help you pass your N.E.W.T.S, no matter how amusing they may seem at the time."

Ginny stared at the floor. She really didn't know what to say to that.

"I am going to give you extra homework for not vanishing your badger, and in future I hope you consider what is more important: having a good time with your friends or getting a proper education. You are one of the top students in my class, Mr Malfoy. I hope that you will not disappoint my expectations again."

"I understand," said Ginny politely.

"Very well. You may leave."

Ginny nodded and left the room. She was relieved that McGonagall had only wanted to talk to her about that, but she couldn't help but feel just a little bad for Draco. He really was getting the raw end of the deal when it came to their work.

**OOOOOO**

Draco looked at his watch, a moody expression coming to his face. Why couldn't the over-grown beetle go drown herself in her stupid, pink teacup and do them all a favour? He was quite certain that he was going to die of boredom if he had to suffer any more of listening to the old bag drone on about dreams.

Professor Trelawney glided over, glittering, as was customary, from the many beads surrounding her. Her frizzy hair was more static than usual and her magnified eyes were bulging slightly as she stared at him.

"Ah, Ginevra." She paused suddenly, a frown coming to face. "You seem different, my child. I sense an icy aura behind those fiery eyes of yours."

Draco stared at her completely nonplussed. She really was deranged. He contemplated telling her so, but then he realised that Ginny would never say such a thing, and who knew how the freakish old bat would react.

He was saved the trouble of answering, as Trelawney merely walked away looking slightly confused and muttering to herself that she could have sworn she'd felt that presence before.

Draco wondered if perhaps the dotty professor had realised that he was not really Ginny Weasley, but then that couldn't be right. Trelawney was just a fraud that made up depressing predictions to spook people out.

The brunette, who he discovered was named Lyra, looked at Draco with a puzzled expression on her face. "What was all that about?"

Draco shrugged, not really knowing what to make of it either. "Who knows? The old bat's crazy. I wouldn't pay any attention to her."

Lyra and Oricarn laughed appreciatively at this remark, and just in that moment the bell rang. Draco stood up, not able to resist the smile that came to his face.

Finally, he could leave this stuffy room.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Ginny was walking with Blaise down the hallway towards the Great Hall for lunch, when she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be meeting Draco in the library right now. She gasped and looked at Blaise, hoping he would not think it was too weird that she didn't want to have lunch with them.

"Um, you go have lunch without me. I have some things I have to do in the library." She forced a smile. "I thought I'd better start that homework for McGonagall, you know?"

Blaise gave her a quizzical look, but nodded his head all the same. "Okay, Draco. I'll see you later then."

Ginny nodded and watched Blaise enter the Great Hall. She sighed and quickly made her way to the library, hoping that she would be able to find something so that she could get back to herself. As much as she enjoyed the Slytherins' company, she would rather not be stuck in Draco's body.

Madam Pince glared as Ginny entered the library. The pinched-face woman seemed to glare at anyone who dared disturb her lair.

Peering about the library, Ginny was disappointed to see no sign of Draco yet. She sighed again and made her way slowly to a table at the furthest corner of the library to wait for him. Ten minutes later Draco came walking towards her, looking for all the world like he had done nothing wrong at all.

"Oh, so you finally decided to turn up," greeted Ginny with a scowl. She was furious that she had missed her lunch just so that she could wait for him to decide when he was going to come to the library.

"Yes, well I was trying to get rid of Lyra and Oricarn," responded Draco unapologetically, taking a seat at the table.

Ginny made a huffy noise and continued to scowl at him. She didn't really trust herself to speak right now. Most of what was running through her head was best left unsaid.

"It was only ten minutes," Draco snapped. "Now can we please get on with finding a solution to this?"

"Fine," she relented, realising there really was no point in brooding over it. "Where do we begin?"

"I haven't a clue, but the restricted section seems the most appropriate."

Ginny nodded, and together they stood up, both silently agreeing that the sooner they got their bodies back, the better.


	3. Finding the Answer

**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise isn't mine.

**Finding The Answer**

Draco threw a book down and sighed for what Ginny thought must have been the hundredth time.

"It's no use," he groaned dejectedly. "We are never going to find anything that allows people to switch bodies besides the polyjuice potion."

"There has to be something!" exclaimed Ginny, still searching through the mouldy, old books. "I refuse to believe that I am stuck this way!"

"Face it, she-weasel, we are stuck in each other's bodies."

"Oh, well you're not exactly helping, are you?" snapped Ginny, feeling rather sick of his pessimistic and annoying complaining. "All you've done is complain and act like a big baby!"

She knew there was something in here. They just had to keep looking.

"So what?" retorted Draco, a mutinous scowl on his face. "I just spent the day stuck with giggling girls and pretending to be a happy-clappy Gryffindor. I'm _not_ in a good mood."

Ginny's nerves were already stretched, but this seemed to be the last straw. She was so sick of being stuck in his body, so sick of hearing his voice, and so sick of Draco Malfoy.

"Malfoy, if you don't shut up, I am going to throttle you!"

"Really, Weasley, learn to control that temper of yours," Draco drawled right back, seeming to enjoy watching Ginny struggle to contain her fury.

He watched her fuming at him for a moment and then suddenly decided, much to his dislike, that he looked dreadful when he lost his temper.

"Weasley, don't do that face again. It looks terrible on me."

Ginny blinked and then suddenly went into a peel of laughter, her (now) grey eyes brewing with amusement. "You're so vain," she choked out between gasps.

"Yes, well you've already ruined my image by not even brushing my hair properly," responded Draco peevishly, while glaring at the offending blond mess on Ginny's head. It wasn't even slicked back or anything; instead, looking nothing more than a tousled mop.

Ginny only laughed again, almost falling off her chair in the process. She had never known that Draco Malfoy was so vain, though, really, when one thought about it, it wasn't all that surprising.

Draco watched her gasping for breath from so laughing so hard, tiny tears coming to her eyes, and began to feel increasingly frustrated.

"Oh, shut up!" he snapped in an irritable voice.

Ginny tried to stifle her giggles, but only ended up giving a rather inelegant snort. He knew that she was never going to let him live with this, and so decided it would be better for both parties if he steered the conversation to more productive matters rather than his newly discovered vanity.

"Look, Weasley, I really don't think we are going to find anything here—and stop laughing," he added grumpily.

"Wait! Malfoy, I found it!" squealed Ginny excitedly, having just randomly opened a book and stared at a paragraph.

Her eyes found his, urging him to look. Draco instantly sat up and leaned closer to read where Ginny's finger was pointing.

…_speaks of a strange, magical power that allows two people to switch bodies. It is unclear how the actual phenomena occurs, but the only way to reverse the effect is to ove…_

"The page has been ripped!" Draco exclaimed in horror, his eyes widening with disbelief.

"It might still be in there somewhere," muttered Ginny, a note of panic creeping into her voice.

Draco looked through the book, flicking through the smelly, dusty pages, but there was nothing. The page was gone. Lost.

He turned his eyes to see her defeated expression, and felt his own anger boiling. Their only hope was gone. He was going to be stuck in her body…

"What do we do now?" asked Ginny in a small voice.

Draco slammed his fist down on the table. "This is not happening!!" he exclaimed, finally losing his control at the thought of never being able to go back to his life or his body. "I will not stay in your horrible body any longer!"

A third year Hufflepuff looked at them curiously from the nearby shelves, his eyes bulging at what he had heard Draco (who he thought was Ginny Weasley) shout.

"What the hell do you want, you little runt?" asked Draco nastily, his eyes taking on a threatening expression.

The Hufflepuff boy squeaked in fright, jumping nearly a metre into the air, and went running off. Draco let out a deep breath and turned back to Ginny, who was now frowning at him.

"What?" said Draco innocently.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Malfoy. When are you going to act your age?"

"_Excuse_ me? You see how you like being trapped in a female's body, stuck with twittering, manhandling girls, and having Potter trying to kiss you at every opportune moment. IT'S NOT EXACTLY A PICNIC!!!"

"Okay, okay, I get it," sighed Ginny, amazed at how angry he was becoming. "Just calm down."

Normally he seemed quite calm, but it seemed that a day spent in her body, and then finding out that the book they had thought would help them had the page missing, had slightly unhinged him.

Draco glowered at her, as if it was all her fault he had lost his temper. "Must be this hair rubbing off on me," he mumbled unhappily, pulling at the flaming red strands. "I don't normally lose control like this."

Ginny frowned at him but didn't say anything that could be considered rude back. There was no point in making him angry again, and, to be fair, she guessed that in a way he did have it worse than her. Draco was so rude to everyone that most people just left her alone; he, on the other hand, found himself being swamped by her family and friends.

"Right, Malfoy," said Ginny firmly, attempting to change the conversation back to the problem at hand. "I think we should try to figure out how this happened to us."

"And how are we supposed to do that?"

It was obvious he had decided that nothing could help them now. Ginny was not as ready to give up. She had been thinking while Draco was raging, and now she realised that if books couldn't help them, then they would just have to figure it out for themselves.

"By going over everything that happened yesterday," answered Ginny proudly, quite pleased by what she had come up with.

"I knew that," muttered Draco, though Ginny could tell he was annoyed that he had not thought of it.

Rolling her eyes, Ginny pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill from her bag in case they thought of anything worth investigating. "All right," she said, taking a deep breath and looking expectantly at him. "Where to begin?"

"How about when you woke up?" asked Draco innocently, though his annoying smirk was in place. Ginny was surprised that even on her own face he still managed to give his trademark smirk.

"Shut up Malfoy," she muttered, pushing him slightly.

Draco merely smiled in amusement, but said nothing.

Ginny picked up the quill and dipped it in the ink, frowning to herself as she tried to think of all that had happened yesterday…

**oooooooooo**

**Yesterday as Ginny saw it….**

_AHHH! Why does this always happen? I always sleep in! Never mind. Now where did I put that—Oh, there it is._

Ginny sat up from underneath the bed, her hair a resembling a rather large bird nest, and looked very frazzled indeed as she searched frantically for her other sock. She had found one, and now her next mission was to find the other. She refused to wear mismatched socks again.

"What are you doing?" asked Marissa, sitting up in her bed, a scowl firmly in place.

Ginny rolled her eyes. Marissa always had something to complain about to her in the mornings.

"Quidditch training," grunted Ginny, lifting clothes and books up off the ground.

_Like you care you sneaky, little git. I know you want to get your smutty paws on Harry._

"Oh, well good luck," said Marissa.

_Pfft, yeah right. You know you're wishing me de—EEK! Better hurry before Harry gets really mad!_

Ginny grabbed the rest of her clothes, praying that her other sock was in the pile, and sprinted out of the girls' dormitories. She scrambled out of the portrait hole and began to run, still trying to get her clothes on properly.

_Must hurry. Can't be late. Might get kicked off team. Ahh, as much as I love you Harry, why must you make practise so early?_

**Thump**

"Ugh—what the hell?" a male voice groaned distantly.

_Seems I've banged into someone. Quick, you dolt, apologise!!_

Ginny opened her eyes to see who it was she had banged into, but only found herself staring at the insides of a red and gold jersey.

"What the hell are you doing?" the male demanded angrily. "What kind of idiot runs around in hallways with a jersey covering their head? What are you, some kind of mental?"

Ginny pulled the jersey of her head, her hair even messier than before, and stared at the tall figure of Draco Malfoy. His whole appearance was immaculate with not a hair out of place.

_Knew it would have to be that git…_

"I was in a hurry," said Ginny aloud, trying and failing to make it sound like an apology.

"You weasels really have no manners, do you?" sneered Draco, a disgusted expression on his face.

_How dare he say that? Quick Ginny, thing of a clever retort!_

"Oh, and I suppose you're the paragon of propriety?" Ginny retorted with fake sweetness, her eyebrow rising ever so slightly.

_Yes, that was good! Way to go, Ginny!_

"Well, Weasel, the rich can afford to be however we like. You, on the other hand, will be labelled common and vulgar: two descriptions that I think have you in a nutshell," he finished with his trademark smirk.

_Ouch, that hurts. Really, it does. Slimy git. Bah, who cares? I have to get to Quidditch anyway. No time for the amazing, ferret boy!_

"Oh, I would love to continue having this discussion with you," said Ginny with an amiable smile, "but, you see, I'm late and you are in my way…"

And with that, Ginny roughly pushed Draco out of the way and continued her mad dash to the Quidditch pitch.

"Sorry I'm late," she gasped, skidding on to the pitch. She was still smiling to herself at how she had managed to finally beat Draco Malfoy in a sparring match of words. She had even nearly pushed him over, which was a worthwhile bonus.

Harry gave her a fleeting look and nodded his head, before turning back to the rest of the team to finish his speech.

_Phew. I thought he was going to get angry. I mean, the match against Slytherin is coming up and Harry's been a bit tetchy lately with the whole Quidditch thing._

"Right, let's go!" Harry yelled, giving the go-ahead for the team to all ascend for practise.

Ginny pushed off the ground on her broom and smiled as the wind whipped through her hair. Finally she could just do something she actually enjoyed doing…

**Later that evening…**

_Oh no, there is the great prick himself. Great, what does he want this time?_

"What do you want?" snapped Ginny tiredly, glancing towards Draco, who was leaning against a bookcase and watching her with a smirk.

She really didn't feel like having another conversation with him. After Quidditch practise, her day had simply gone downhill with one horrible class after the next.

"Now, Weasel," drawled the boy, "what did I say about manners?"

_Right, that decides it! Malfoy is a royal pain in the butt and is _this_ close to feeling the Weasel—__**choke—**__I mean, _Weasley_ temper_.

Noticing that he was once again smirking at her, _and_ that he had gotten her riled up again, Ginny contented herself by throwing one of her books at him. She gave a pleased smile when it nearly hit his pale, pointy, stupid face.

Malfoy simply raised an eyebrow and stared at the book now lying by his foot. "You know, it is very rude to throw books at people," he commented, as if making a statement about the weather.

Ginny huffed. She couldn't believe how impossibly annoying he was.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy," she muttered, once more going back to her book. "I'm tired and I have a lot of work to do." _Stupid git! I hate you! Hmm, wouldn't you look nice being eaten by the giant squid_…

"Right." Draco smirked as he snatched the book out of her hands. "Err, I'm sure Orlando, the handsome prince, and Hero, the beautiful damsel in distress, could not possibly wait."

Ginny snatched the book out of his hands, her cheeks going a nasty, blotchy red. "MALFOY, GET LOST!!"

Draco chuckled. His whole demeanour seemed to change as he switched from his annoying taunting mood to one of simple amusement.

"I only came to tell you that Snape wanted to talk to you."

_You pompous, sneering idiot! Why couldn't you have said that in the first place?_

"You could have told me that earlier," Ginny voiced instead, knowing that her thoughts would only get her in even more trouble.

"Oh, but that would have ruined the fun."

_Git._

Ginny stood up and stalked past Draco with her head held high, refusing to look at his slimy face again—that was until she noticed that he was following her out of the room.

_Why is he still following me?_

"Snape told me to lead you there himself. I guess he doesn't have much faith in your abilities to follow simple instructions," said Draco, as if reading her mind.

"If you like your body the way it is, I suggest you shut up," retorted Ginny, tired of his smart remarks.

Draco laughed again, but, much to Ginny's relief, said nothing.

The rest of the walk to the dungeons was made in silence, and it was with great joy that Ginny saw Snape's classroom coming into view.

_Yes, now I can get rid of the slimy git_

"Well, Malfoy, it seems you can go now," announced Ginny, with a pleased look, glad to finally be rid him.

"Finally."

_When did he get so tired? _

"What's wrong with you?" asked Ginny, if a little rudely.

Even if she didn't like him, it was just a natural, nosy habit to ask questions when people started behaving in odd ways.

"Well, apart from the fact that I had to endure your company for several minutes," responded Draco, with a dissatisfied expression, "I'm quite tired."

"Oh yes, I'm such an affliction," said Ginny, rolling her eyes. "Please get over yourself."

Draco stared at her dispassionately, looking for all the world like this was the most boring conversation he had ever been in.

"You know, Weasel, it would be great if you just shut up for once."

"I'm sure the whole world thinks that about you, Malfoy," replied Ginny, sickly sweet.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm going now."

"Good."

Draco turned to leave, only to be knocked over by Snape, who had just come bounding out of the Potions room holding his face. Ginny's eyes widened in horror as Draco banged into her, sending them both falling to the ground.

_Ahh, the ferret is on me! Ewww._

"Oww," Draco groaned, clutching his head as he lay on top of her.

"GET OFF!!" Ginny bellowed, pushing roughly at his chest.

Draco stood up, still holding a hand to his head, his grey eyes glancing around blearily.

Ginny scrambled up off the ground, her body swaying slightly as a strange dizziness descended over he.

_So dizzy… What's that strange smell? Ahh! What's going on? Why do I feel so strange?_

**OOOOOOOOOOO**

**Yesterday as Draco saw it….**

_Oh yeah, I have to give that report to Snape this morning_.

Sighing to himself at the thought of having to go talk to Snape, Draco took one last look in the mirror to make sure everything was in order. He nodded his head in approval. He was looking good and he knew it.

"Draco, shouldn't you be going?" asked Blaise, yawning as he started pulling off his pyjamas.

"You know, Blaise," said Draco, while picking up his bag. "If you rush yourself in the morning, you'll regret it later."

Blaise snorted, obviously not impressed by Draco's argument, and threw his pillow at him. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"I'll take that as a compliment," Draco laughed, and headed out the door to go hand in his report.

He walked down the corridor, thinking happily of the food awaiting him in the Great Hall, when suddenly—

**Thump**

Draco stumbled backwards. "Ugh, what the hell?" he groaned, rubbing his chest where something had collided painfully into him.

He glanced at the person before him, surprised to see a rather short girl wearing a red and gold jersey on her head.

_What the heck? It's a jersey monster!_

"What the hell are you doing?" Draco demanded angrily. "What kind of idiot runs around hallways with jerseys covering their heads? What are you, some kind of mental?"

The monster pulled the jersey of her head, allowing a mane of very messy, red hair to fall down to her waist. Her large, brown eyes glanced up at him in surprise. Then her expression distorted into revulsion.

_Oh, it's the she-weasel. No wonder_…

"I was in a hurry," said Ginny Weasley, not very apologetically.

"You weasels really have no manners do you?" sneered Draco, eyeing her raggedy clothes with distaste.

He really wasn't surprised that the Weasleys had no manners. They were a common bunch, after all…

"Oh, and I suppose you're the model of propriety?" the girl replied with false sweetness, one eyebrow rising ever so slightly.

_Hmph. So the Weasel has claws. She's still no match for my wit…_

"Well, Weasel," he began haughtily. "The rich can afford to be however we like. You, on the other hand, will be labelled common and vulgar: two descriptions that I think have you in a nutshell."

He smirked. _Take that, Weaslette._

"Oh, I would love to continue having this discussion," she said with an amiable smile, "but, you see, I'm late and you are in my way."

And with those words, she had pushed past him and walked off down the hallway.

_I'll get you back, Weasel. _

_Oh, damn! The report! Snape is going to kill me!_

**Later that evening…**

"Mr Malfoy, your report was excellent!" Snape praised, eyeing Draco with approval.

"Thank you, Sir," said Draco in a bored voice.

Snape praised everything he did anyway. It was nothing new to hear Snape giving his report such a glowing assessment.

"Before you go, would you mind finding Ginevra Weasley? I need to have a word with her."

_Hmm, what does the overgrown bat want with her? Oh well, no matter, I know where she'll be anyway._

"Oh, and would you bring her back here?" Snape continued. "She seems to have problems following simple instructions."

_Snape really doesn't like the little Weasel. This should be entertaining_.

"Of course, Sir," replied Draco politely, before exiting the room to find Ginny.

He walked into the library, where he had already seen her working earlier, and saw a flash of long red hair at a table near the back. Smirking to himself, he walked over and leant against the bookcase near her table. She didn't look up, apparently engrossed with her homework.

_I wonder what she is doing?_

He peered at her table, noticing a few books scattered about, but she seemed to be paying attention to the one in her hands. Almost as if she could feel his eyes on her, Ginny lifted her face and stared at him.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

_Someone is in a bad mood._

"Now, Weasel, what did I say about manners?" responded Draco, purposely putting on a patronising voice.

He thought he had might as well amuse himself at her expense while he was here. Merlin knew he needed it after the day he had faced.

Rather than saying anything back at him, she decided to throw one of her books instead. He flinched as it nearly hit his face and gazed down at the book now lying on the floor, surprised that she would actually throw something that heavy at him.

_Hmm, this girl has spunk, but two can play at his game, and I don't have to resort to throwing books at people._

Draco raised an eyebrow, plastering an unconcerned expression on his face. "You know, it is very rude to throw books at people."

"Leave me alone, Malfoy. I'm tired and I have a lot of work to do."

Draco walked towards her table and peered over at her 'work'. It had a bright pink cover and there was a male and a female illustrated in a rather clichéd pose.

_She calls that work? It looks more like one of those trashy romance novels I see my mum reading. _

_Just get a closer look…_

"Right," said Draco, snatching the book out of her hands and glancing at the back of the book where the blurb was. "Err, I'm sure Orlando, the handsome prince, and Hero, the beautiful damsel in distress, could not possibly wait."

Ginny snatched the book out of his hands, a furious expression on her face. "MALFOY, GET LOST!"

_This is too easy. Weasleys are so diverting_.

Draco chuckled, but decided he should probably stop baiting her now.

"I only came to tell you that Snape wanted to talk to you."

"You could have told me that earlier."

"Oh, but that would have ruined the fun," smirked Draco, still trying not to laugh at her outraged expression.

She abruptly stood up and stalked past him, her head held high. He followed, knowing that Snape really would expect him to take her to his classroom, but frowned suddenly as he noticed her staring at him.

_She's staring at me funny. Probably wondering why I'm still following her. Don't flatter yourself, Weasel, I'm only doing this because Snape wants me too._

"Snape told me to led you there himself. I guess he doesn't have much faith in your abilities to follow simple instructions," Draco said with a smirk, remembering what the professor had told him earlier.

"If you like your body the way it is, I suggest you shut up."

Draco laughed again. _I would love to see you try, little weasel._

The rest of the time of their trek to the dungeons was spent in silence, for Draco had long lost the amusement in taunting her. All he wanted now was to go to bed, or maybe play some cards with Blaise and the others.

It was a relief when he saw the door to Snape's classroom.

_About time. I think I've had enough Weasels for today_.

"Well, it seems, Malfoy, that you can go now."

"Finally."

"What's wrong with you?" Ginny asked rudely.

"Well, apart from the fact that I had to endure your company for several minutes," Draco said with a dissatisfied expression, just realising how long he had spent in the she-weasel's company. "I'm quite tired."

"Oh yes, I'm such an affliction," retorted Ginny, rolling her eyes. "Please get over yourself."

_Yes, you are, you stupid chit. Glad we agree that you're an annoying affliction that doesn't know how to stay silent._

"You know, Weasel, it would be great if you would just shut up for once," said Draco, unable to keep his thoughts to himself.

"I'm sure the whole world thinks that about you Malfoy."

_Like I haven't heard that one before._

"Whatever. I'm going now."

"Good," said Ginny, glaring at him.

Draco rolled his eyes again and turned to leave, when he was suddenly knocked over by Snape, who had just come bounding out of the Potions room holding his face. Draco found himself falling backwards, knocking Ginny over in the process, and landed on her with a hard thump.

"Oww," he groaned, clutching his head where it had hit the ground.

"GET OFF!!" Ginny bellowed, shoving roughly at his chest.

_Crazy wench! That hurts!!_

Draco quickly stood up to stop her forceful pushing and looked around dizzily, noticing a strange smell wafting towards him from the open potions door.

_Head is swimming. Feel sick…_

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"The Potion!" Draco and Ginny shouted together, looking at each other ecstatically.

"We found it!" cried Ginny, beaming at the thought that they had finally discovered the answer.

"I can get my body back!" said Draco happily.

Or so they thought.

**A/N: I have to apologise for the repetitiveness of this chapter. **


	4. The Inevitable

**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise isn't mine.

**The Inevitable**

Draco and Ginny raced down to the dungeons. Snape was sitting at his cauldron, looking particularly annoyed, though that was a normal expression for someone as grumpy as him.

"Professor, we need your help!" Draco and Ginny said breathlessly.

Snape looked down his hooked nose at them and frowned, his black eyes swivelling from one face to the next. "What is it?"

"We need to know what was in the cauldron last night," said Draco, giving a warning glare at Ginny.

She stared at him questioningly, but he only glared at her even more. Ginny didn't know why Draco just didn't tell Snape that they had swapped bodies, but decided to play along anyway, if only to stop him from glaring at her like that.

"Yes, Professor, we think we may have been affected by it since we were both in the vicinity," said Ginny, glancing towards Draco. He nodded his head briefly to show he was pleased with her effort. Ginny felt a small sense of pride, though why Draco's opinion on her lying abilities should matter to her, she was not sure…

Snape looked at Ginny, obviously more inclined to talk to her since she was the one that looked like Draco, rather than Draco himself.

"Draco," he began patiently, "it was merely a potion that causes the people surrounding it to fall asleep by its intoxicating fumes. I assure you, nothing will have happened."

Ginny stared at Draco, crestfallen. If Snape was telling the truth, then they were still no closer to finding out how they had switched bodies, or how they were going to switch back.

"No, it can't be," refuted Draco. "You must have made a mistake!"

"Weasley, how many times do I have to tell you not to talk back to me? Unless you want points taken off Gryffindor, I suggest you keep quiet." His lip curled with contempt. "Though I know for you that is a difficult feat."

Feeling highly offended by Snape's words, but not wanting Gryffindor to lose anymore points on her behalf, Ginny nudged Draco to be quiet and looked at Snape with forced politeness. "Thank you, Professor, that's all we needed to know."

Snape nodded his head in dismissal. Ginny and Draco left the dungeons, both mirroring each other's disappointed expressions.

"What do we do now?" Draco complained in a long-suffering voice. "Clearly it wasn't the potion."

"I don't know, Malfoy."

She just wanted to get out of his body and get back to her life. She didn't understand why he hadn't just told Snape what had happened, and she really didn't want to go researching in the library again. She just wanted her body back.

"Why don't we just tell Dumbledore what happened?" she sighed. "He'll know what to do."

"And what are you going to say?" Draco stopped to face her, a mocking expression in his eyes. "Hey, Professor, Draco Malfoy and I switched bodies, and we don't know how, so can you, like, turn us back?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. She wished that he would stop being such a sarcastic, annoying jerk and just help her sort this out.

"It's better than to keep pretending."

Draco suddenly grabbed her arm and frowned, no longer looking sarcastic and moody, but genuinely wanting her cooperation. "Look, Weasley, maybe you haven't noticed, but only dark magic can make people switch bodies. They're going to think we did something really bad to get like this."

Ginny's heart sank. He was right. Why would anyone believe that it was by accident that they had switched bodies? They had no proof that they hadn't been messing around with dark magic. They could even get expelled if people decided that it was their fault that they had somehow switched.

She sighed and looked at Draco in resignation. "Okay, so what do you think we should do?"

"We need help, there's no doubt about that."

Ginny had to agree. She was sure that if they had to spend any more time together, they'd probably end up killing each other.

"Blaise would probably help us," Draco continued in a thoughtful voice. "He's good at finding out all that stuff."

"Hermione could help."

"The mudblood?"

"Her name is Hermione," corrected Ginny firmly. She had almost forgotten how bigoted Draco Malfoy was. "You know that she is the smartest witch in our year, maybe even our school. I'd say she'd be able to find a solution to all of this."

"Fine."

Ginny blinked. She had almost expected him to put up more fight than that.

"We get Blaise and Granger to help us," he agreed.

"Fine," Ginny echoed. It seemed that he was willing to put his prejudice aside if it meant helping himself, though that didn't exactly make him any nicer—more just confirmed her belief that he was a nasty, selfish brat.

"Now when should we meet?" Ginny mused out loud, wondering where a good place to discuss their problem with Hermione and Blaise would be.

"We'll meet during dinner. The unused Charms classroom will be good. No one ever goes in there."

Ginny nodded in agreement. It would be better to meet in one of the unused classrooms, but then how were they going to get Hermione and Blaise to meet them? She didn't like to think of what Draco might say to Hermione to get her to come.

"Maybe I should tell Hermione," said Ginny, voicing her concern at what he would say to her friend.

"Weasley, you are in my body," responded Draco, an amused expression on his face. "She won't go anywhere near you."

"Oh. Right. Well, you tell her then," Ginny mumbled, slightly embarrassed that she had said something so stupid when she should have realised that her telling Hermione was practically impossible in her current state.

"Make sure you tell Blaise."

"I know, I know," Ginny muttered, before going off her separate way.

It didn't take her long to find Blaise. She was glad to find him alone, for she wasn't sure how she would have got rid of Crabbe and Goyle if they had been there too.

"Oh, there you are, Draco," said Blaise, grinning when he spotted her.

She realised she had to tell him now, but she had no idea how to get him to come to the classroom with her later. How on earth did one ask something like that?

"Blaise," she began tentatively, "do you, uhhh, want to come with me, uhhh, to do some study during dinner…. in an unused classroom?"

Ginny felt herself blush once she had finished her awkward sentence. That had got to be the lamest speech she had ever made, though she really hadn't known how else to get him there without admitting that she was not Draco Malfoy.

Blaise stared at her with an odd look in his eyes. Ginny felt just a little apprehension upon noticing that there was no smile on his face.

"You want me to come with you to an unused classroom and do study during dinner?" he repeated slowly, still with that same odd expression.

Ginny nodded, her blush spreading to her ears. She had made a right botch of it this time. Still, maybe Blaise would agree anyway. All she needed was to get him there, after all.

Blaise's eyes took on a very sharp glint. Ginny suddenly realised just why Blaise Zabini was a Slytherin.

"All right," he said menacingly, grabbing Ginny roughly by her collar and pinning her hard against the wall. "What have you done with Draco?"

"Nothing," Ginny gasped, trying hard not to squeak in fright at how intimidating he looked right now.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Please," said Ginny hurriedly, realising she had no choice but to tell him the truth before he decided to skin her alive right then and there. "Just let me explain."

Blaise nodded and released Ginny's collar. She instinctively smoothed down her robes and took a few deep breaths to gather her thoughts together.

"Well?" Blaise prompted, watching her expectantly.

She sighed. "You're right that I'm not Draco Malfoy. It's not what you think, though. I don't know how it happened. I'm just stuck in his body."

"What? Are you serious?"

Ginny nodded, glad that he had believed her straight away. She didn't know what she would have done if he hadn't accepted her story.

"So, if you aren't Draco, then who are you?" Blaise asked, his eyes watching her even more closely now.

"Ginny Weasley," she mumbled, glancing down at the ground, not wanting to see his expression.

"WHAT?"

She winced at his loud exclamation. "I know it's hard to believe, but I'm telling the truth."

Blaise suddenly burst out laughing. Ginny looked up in surprise. She had been expecting him to get angry, maybe even mock her or shout at her, but laugh?

"Out of all the people in the school," said Blaise in an amused voice, "Draco somehow trades bodies with you. Oh, this is too good to be true."

Ginny huffed indignantly, unimpressed by his finding her discomfort so humorous.

"Yes, well I'm not exactly enjoying myself being stuck in the ferret's body, so you'll have to excuse me for not finding this situation as funny as you obviously do."

Blaise laughed again and leaned forward to peer at her more closely, even though Ginny knew all he would see was Draco's disgruntled face.

"It really is you in there, isn't it, Weasley?" he asked with a smile.

Ginny nodded. "I'm sorry I imposed on all of you, but I didn't have much choice."

"It's all right," shrugged Blaise, waving his hand unconcernedly. "So what is it that you want me to do, anyway? I take it the meeting in the classroom at dinner is not about studying?"

Ginny blushed again, remembering her awful lie, and shook her head quickly. "No, that was just where Malfoy wanted us all to meet, but we were hoping you would be able to help us research a way to get our bodies back. We figured we shouldn't trust the teachers, since they would just think we were playing with dark magic and probably expel us."

Blaise nodded, a small smile coming to his lips. "I'll help you."

Ginny took in a deep breath. She was glad that was over, and even more glad that he was going to help.

He laughed suddenly. Ginny stared at him questioningly.

"What?" she said in surprise, wondering what could possibly be so funny now.

"You're lucky you told me," Blaise said, still chuckling. "I'll be able to help you be more like Draco now. It was kind of obvious you weren't him."

"Was I really that bad?" asked Ginny anxiously. She had thought she had done quite well, but seeing his amused expression made her wonder if perhaps she was wrong.

Blaise grinned. "You were terrible, but don't worry, Crabbe and Goyle are too thick to notice, and Pansy hasn't been talking to you much today. By the way, you'd better remember that date with her, or Draco won't be happy."

"How can he go out with such a harpy?"

Blaise sniggered. "Pansy is all right. She just doesn't like you."

"Hmph."

"Well, shall we go to class then?"

"Sure," agreed Ginny. "I guess we can't really do anything until dinner anyway."

She followed Blaise down the corridor, inwardly hoping that Draco had not faced the same problems she did in trying to persuade Hermione to come to the classroom…

**OOOOOOOOOOOO **

"Where is that stupid mudblood?" Draco muttered, scouting the corridors for a sign of the bushy-haired girl.

He had been looking for her for almost half an hour now.

Draco's eyes bulged in horror when he saw Harry Potter coming towards him down the corridor. He quickly ducked behind a pillar, fervently hoping that the Gryffindor had not seen him.

"Hey, Hermione, have you seen Ginny?" Draco heard Harry call.

Draco almost swore in frustration. Hermione Granger was probably no more than a few feet away from him, and he couldn't do anything about it unless he wanted Potter to start spouting love rubbish to him again.

"No, Harry, I haven't," came the distracted reply.

Draco was not religious by any means, but right now he was praying for whatever deity was listening to force Potter to leave and make that silly, bushy-haired bookworm stay so that he could talk to her.

His prayers were answered. Harry walked past the pillar Draco was hiding behind and disappeared around the corner. Draco waited a few moments more, quickly gathering himself together, and then rushed out from behind the pillar to see Hermione walking down the corridor in the opposite direction.

"Granger!" he called out, running to catch up with her.

Hermione turned and looked about the corridor in confusion. "Oh," she said with a smile, realising who it was that had called out to her. "Hi, Ginny. Harry was just looking for you."

"Never mind that," muttered Draco, pulling the girl a little part away from the rest of the students. "I need your help."

"Of course I'll help," Hermione smiled. "What is it?"

"Well, the thing is…I'm not Ginny."

Hermione laughed, obviously thinking this was all a good joke. "What are you talking about, Ginny?"

"Weasley and I somehow switched bodies," explained Draco in a rush, knowing how stupid he was sounding, and feeling just a little degraded to be talking to the know-it-all mudblood—even asking her for help.

"What?"

"I woke up this morning in Weasley's body," Draco replied in an annoyed voice. "I don't know how it happened; all I know is that it did."

He thought that she was supposed to be intelligent. She was certainly taking a long time to catch on to the 'I'm not Ginny' part.

"You—you're Malfoy, aren't you?"

Draco nodded, glad that he didn't have to tell her that. "Weasley thought you might be able to help, and Merlin knows I'm failing miserably in pretending to be the she-weasel."

Hermione stared at him sharply. For one horrible moment, he thought that she was going to say no, but then she slowly nodded her head.

"I guess I can help."

Draco sighed with relief. Though he would never say thank you to Hermione, he was grateful for her help.

"It's not like I'm doing this for you," she continued firmly, giving him no doubt that if it was for him, she would not have bothered. "I just don't think that Ginny will be enjoying her time pretending to be you, or having you ruin her reputation for that matter."

Draco nodded, not really caring why she was helping them as long as she did. "I understand."

"Well then. I guess we can put our differences aside for now," said Hermione, putting out her hand for a truce.

Draco took her hand somewhat reluctantly and nodded his head. "I guess, for now..."

"So when are we meeting Ginny?" Hermione asked, quickly pulling her hand away.

"We're going to meet Weasley at dinner in the old charms classroom. She's bringing Blaise with her."

"Zabini?" said Hermione, scrunching up her nose. "That Slytherin?"

"What's the matter, Granger? Afraid of the big, nasty Slytherins?"

"Please," Hermione scoffed. "I just didn't expect him, that's all."

"Whatever," said Draco, not really interested in what she thought of Blaise. "We've got a few hours before dinner. Make sure you aren't late."

He turned around to leave, when he suddenly spotted Harry coming back around the corner. He gave a panicked glance around the corridor. His eyes fell on Hermione.

"Granger, do me a favour, would you? Don't let Potter follow me."

Draco mumbled a quick thanks and then speedily made his escape.

"Why should I have to do the dirty work?" Hermione mumbled to herself, and then plastered a cheery smile on her face as Harry came closer. "Hi, Harry," she greeted.

"Hi, Hermione. Listen, I can't find Ginny anywhere. Are you sure you haven't seen her?"

"Sorry, Harry, I already told you I haven't seen her," Hermione lied, though she guessed in a way that it was the truth, considering Ginny was now stuck inside Draco Malfoy's body. "Have you tried Ron?"

"He's too busy snogging Luna to listen. I guess I'll keep looking," Harry sighed dejectedly, and continued to trek down the corridor.

Hermione frowned. Things were getting way out of hand here. How on earth did Draco and Ginny switch bodies? And how was Ginny taking all of this?

She shook her head. It seemed she would have to wait until dinner to find out.

**OOOOOOOOOOOO**

The unused classroom was a small circular room, with desks and chairs piled everywhere, giving the group of students little space to be comfortable. The atmosphere was not exactly pleasant either. Hermione kept giving Ginny awkward glances, clearly finding it difficult to be friendly with her while her friend looked like Draco. Blaise watched the whole situation with an amused smile hovering on his lips. Draco simply paced up and down, occasionally letting out a sigh.

"Okay, now that we are all here, I guess we should tell you two what we can remember," said Ginny, hoping to break the tension in the room.

Draco stopped pacing. Together, he and Ginny, recounted all that they could remember, which, unfortunately, was not much.

Hermione frowned, chancing a glance at Blaise who merely looked contemplative. She turned back to Ginny. "You think that Snape could be lying?"

Ginny shrugged. "He may have been right that it was just a sleeping draught, but it does seem strange that the potion is last thing we can remember."

"You'll probably find that's because you were knocked out," said Blaise in a matter-of-fact voice. "I saw Draco being carried into bed last night, and he was still knocked out. I don't know if that was you then, Weasley, but I would say that Snape was telling the truth."

Draco nodded in agreement. "Blaise is right. Snape wouldn't lie to us like that; it would be pointless."

Ginny looked at Hermione to see what she thought about the whole situation.

"I'm going to have to agree with Zabini and Malfoy," Hermione confessed. "I don't think Snape would purposely do that."

"You'd hope he wouldn't," Ginny muttered darkly.

Blaise laughed, giving an amused glance at Ginny. "I know you hate him, Weasley, but he's not that bad."

Ginny shrugged, not wanting to accept that Snape could be anything but a mean, grumpy man. She stared back at Hermione, determined to find out some sort of reason as to why this happened if it wasn't because of Snape's potion.

"So what _do _you think might have caused this, then?"

Hermione glanced down at the book Ginny and Draco had been looking at earlier, a slight frown on her face. "I'm not sure," she admitted, "but I will try and find more information on this. There will be a way to reverse it; we just have to find out how you got like this in the first place."

Blaise nodded in agreement. "She's right. We can't do anything until we figure out how you got this way." He stared at both Ginny and Draco with a hopeful expression. "Are you positive that you can't remember anything after being knocked out by Snape's potion."

Draco and Ginny looked at each other. Ginny knew that he, just like her, was unable to think of anything.

Blaise sighed in disappointment. "This is going to be harder than I thought."

"No way! I have to get my body back!" exclaimed Draco, obviously annoyed that Blaise and Hermione had not figured out something right away.

Ginny had definitely come to the conclusion that patience was not one of Draco Malfoy's virtues.'

Blaise shook his head. "It ain't going to happen at the moment. I'm sorry, Draco, but you're stuck in Weasley's body for now."

"So what do we do?" asked Ginny.

Hermione and Blaise exchanged glances, and then both looked back at Ginny and Draco. Ginny had a feeling that whatever they were going to say was not something she wanted to hear.

"For now just keep pretending to be each other. I'll help Malfoy be more like Ginny."

"And I'll help Weasley be more like Draco," Blaise finished, grinning at Ginny.

Ginny and Draco both looked at each other, crestfallen. Things were really beginning to look bad.


	5. Connected in More Ways Than One

**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise isn't mine.

**A/n: **For those of you who might have read the original story, this is where things will change. I am no longer sticking to the original plot from here on.

**Connected In More Ways Than One**

Blaise watched Ginny eating the dinner the house-elves had prepared for them, a sly expression coming to his face. "Aren't you forgetting something, Weasley?"

"What?" she asked, confused.

An evil grin lit up his eyes. "A date with Pansy, perhaps?"

Ginny choked on her food and started coughing uncontrollably. Hermione quickly patted her on the back. Once she had mastered control of herself again, she could only look up at Blaise in horror.

"I don't actually have to go on that, do I?"

Draco clapped a hand to his forehead, a small groan escaping his lips. "I forgot about that." He turned to face Ginny and gave her a hard glare. "Of course, you have to go. Do you really think I want you to ruin my relationship Pansy? Though, from what I've heard, you already have."

Ginny glared right back at him, her eyes flashing dangerously which was a sure sign she was about to lose her temper.

"Well, I'm sorry!" snapped Ginny, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "You see how you like it when a girl starts trying to come onto you when you're trying to eat your breakfast! It's not exactly something I'm used to!!"

Draco rolled his eyes, completely unaffected by her shouting. "Well, I can't say that being snogged by Potter was exactly a thrilling experience. It's not like I said rude things to him, so keep that damn temper under control."

Ginny looked like she was about to go into another rant, but Draco cut her off, his own eyes taking on a dangerous glint.

"I don't care how much you complain, Weasley," he growled in a low voice. "You're going on that date whether you like it or not."

"But I don't know how you act around girls on dates," said Ginny, desperately trying to find any excuse on why she could not go. She could just imagine how awkward it would be.

"You're a girl, aren't you? I'm sure you can figure it out."

Ginny opened her mouth to argue some more but Hermione suddenly cut in:

"I think I can find a solution to this."

"What?" Draco and Ginny said in unison, as they turned to stare at Hermione. Ginny glared at Draco, who was glaring right back. It was slightly disconcerting that he always seemed to react the same way she did.

"You can use the _esprit joindre_ spell to help you."

Blaise gave her an odd look, his amusement finally vanishing to be replaced with almost concern. "Are you sure that is safe, Granger?"

Ginny looked at the bushy-haired girl cautiously. She trusted Hermione, but sometimes her ideas did end up having some unexpected consequences.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ginny.

"_Esprit joindre _is a spell that will connect your minds," explained Hermione. A smile came to her lips. "Basically it will feel like you and Malfoy are sharing the same body. You will be able to communicate with each other in your minds."

"I will not connect myself to that she-weasel in any more ways," declared Draco bluntly. "It is bad enough that I have to be in her body, but being able to read each other's thoughts? No thanks."

Blaise laughed. "Well I guess you won't care if Pansy dumps you then."

Draco stared speechlessly at his friend. He seemed torn between wanting to rant some more and wanting to make sure Pansy didn't dump him.

Ginny rolled her eyes. She was sick of the whole business now and just wanted to get this day over with. At least this way she wouldn't be stuck with Pansy alone, even if she did have to share thoughts with Draco to do it.

"Look, Malfoy, if you care so much about your girlfriend, you'll do it. I don't exactly want you in my mind either, but it has to be done. Besides, Hermione wouldn't suggest this if there was any way it could hurt us, would you, Hermione?"

Hermione shook her head. "I've read a lot about it and there are no side effects. The spell only lasts for a very short time. When the time runs out, Malfoy will simply leave your mind and everything will go back to normal."

"That's it?" Draco asked sceptically.

"That's it."

He stared at Hermione for a moment, and then finally nodded his head to show his cooperation. "Let's do it, then."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Blaise.

"Why not?" Draco said, shrugging. "It seems it won't harm me, so what could possibly happen? And I don't want Weasley mucking things up with Pansy. I'd never hear the end of it..."

"I guess," Blaise agreed, though still looked sceptical.

Hermione stepped forward before any more arguments could arise. Her eyes levelled on Ginny and Draco. "Okay, you two need to face each other."

Ginny glanced at Draco, who nodded, and stood in front of him. Both looked rather nervous at the sudden aspect of sharing the same mind. Ginny rather fearfully wondered what thoughts Draco would have access to.

Hermione pulled out her wand. "Take each other's hands."

Draco took both of Ginny's hands in his own. She could feel them shaking slightly, though perhaps that was just her own trembling from nerves?

"_Esprit joindre!_" Hermione said in clear voice, casting her wand in a smooth arc.

Blinding, white light shot out from her wand and encircled Draco and Ginny's clasped hands. A strange sensation began to go through Ginny's body, as if the light was forcing itself inside her, and then it stopped.

_**What?**_ a confused voice said in her head. _**Did it work?**_

Ginny looked around and saw her body that Draco had been occupying staring blankly into nothing.

_I think it worked, Malfoy_.

_**How come I can see everything that you can see?**_

_Hermione said it would feel like you were sharing the same body with me. I guess our spirits somehow connected, so you can hear every thought I think and see everything I see. _

_**This is so weird,**_ said Draco fervently.

_Tell me about it. _

"Did it work?" Blaise asked curiously, looking at the now blank eyes of Ginny's (Draco's) body. "It's like he's an empty shell."

"That's because he is," said Hermione, also looking at Ginny's body. "He should be in there with Ginny." She pointed towards Draco's body, which Ginny and Draco were now both occupying.

Ginny nodded. "Yip, we're both here."

_**Why do you get to do all the talking?**_ complained Draco.

_Because I'm the one who is in the body normally. Now shutup._

"That's good," Hermione said, relieved. "I imagine that must have hurt a lot for you, Malfoy."

_**Oh no, it felt like feathers**_, muttered Draco. _**Stupid, know-it-all mud blood. You could have warned me about the excruciating pain of having your soul ripped out of you!!**_

"He said it's fine," Ginny responded quickly.

_**What? It is not fine!**_

"All right, well you'd better get to the fountain," said Blaise, giving Ginny a slight push towards the door. "I expect Pansy will be there soon."

"Good luck, and remember it will only last for one hour," Hermione warned them.

Ginny nodded to show she understood. "Thanks."

_**I can't believe I agreed to this**_, Draco thought, as Ginny left the room, taking his spirit with her.

_Oh, would you get over it. It's only for an hour and then you can go back to your own stupid body. And would you stop thinking! _snapped Ginny._ You keep giving me frights! _

**Sorry,** said Draco in anything but sorry accents.

_Stupid git!_

_**Hey, I heard that!**_

_Crap..._

***Half An Hour Later***

_I thought I told you to stop thinking!!_

_**It's a bit hard to stop thinking, Weasley. You seem to be failing at the task too, so stop being such a hypocrite.**_

_I'm the hypocrite—_

_**Shutup!**_ Draco interrupted. _**Pansy is over there. Now stop being such a twit and get this date over with so that we can both get back to our own thoughts.**_

Ginny glanced towards the fountain. Pansy stood impatiently next to the stone basin, her dark eyes glittering with frustration and her foot tapping distractedly. She looked up at the sound of Ginny's footsteps and her irritable expression suddenly melted into a smile, her eyes lighting up with delight.

"Oh, Draco, where have you been?" asked Pansy, half-scolding, half worrying. She walked forward until she was directly in front of Ginny, her eyes gazing at the other girl (who she thought was Draco) expectantly.

_She doesn't expect me to kiss her does she?_ Ginny thought, a horrible feeling twisting inside of her.

_**That is the normal custom, Weasley**_.

_Ewww, I can't do that_.

_**Then kiss her on the cheek, but don't just stand there gaping like an idiot.**_

Ginny inwardly scowled and leaned forward, giving Pansy a quick kiss on the cheek. Immediately she felt like vomiting, but that was out of the question, especially with Draco occupying her thoughts.

"Why have you been avoiding me all day?" demanded Pansy. "Don't think I haven't noticed." A scowl crept into her expression, her eyes narrowing slightly. "You and Blaise have both been very secretive. You know I hate being left out."

"I've been busy," said Ginny, praying that Pansy would just let the matter drop.

"Too busy to talk to your girlfriend?"

Ginny had no idea where this was going, not knowing what Pansy was like, but she could tell that Pansy was not amused.

_Um, what do I say?_

_**Tell her that she knows you care about her. You just had a lot of things to do today.**_

_Oh, how sweet_.

_**Shutup and talk**_ _**to her!**_

_Okay, okay…_

"Pansy," Ginny said calmly, taking the Slytherin girl's hand and steering her towards a seat. "You know I care about you; I just had a lot of things to do today. You know how it is?"

Pansy nodded her head. "I understand, Draco. I just wish you'd talk to me more. I feel like all we do now is have sex. Don't get me wrong, the sex is great, but I just wish we could go back to how we were when we first were dating; when we used to talk for hours together…"

_Um…I really don't want to hear about this. No offence, Draco, but your sex life really doesn't interest me._

_**Trust me, Weasley; your hearing about my relationship with Pansy is not exactly thrilling to me either, **_Draco muttered in an annoyed voice.

_What do you want me to say? _

_**I don't know,**_ replied Draco grumpily, and Ginny could tell that he was uncomfortable about having this conversation with her. _**Just try change the subject or something.**_

_To what? And How?_

_**Dammit, Weasley, I don't know! Just say anything!**_

"What are you talking about?" Ginny said slowly, while desperately trying to think of what to say. It was proving difficult with Draco shouting at her. "We talk all the time."

"No we don't. You spend more time with Blaise then you do me. I miss you, Draco!" Pansy cried earnestly, clutching Ginny's hands. "Don't you love me anymore?"

_Help Me!_

_**Why the hell does she have to say all of this now? **_Draco thought angrily.

_This isn't helping me give a reply!! _Ginny muttered, near hysterical at having an emotional girl demanding answers she had no idea how to answer.

"Even when we have sex I feel like you're distant," Pansy continued, her eyes staring at Ginny in disappointment. "You don't kiss me like you used to; you don't even touch me like you used to. What's happening to us, Draco?"

_**Please don't say anything more Pansy. I'm already facing enough embarrassment without you making it worse!**_

_You do realise I can hear your thoughts._

_**Oh go to hell, Weasley. If you don't make her shutup, I will hex you so you aren't even recognisable.**_

_But that will be your body you're hexing._

_**Shutup…**_

"Is there another girl?" asked Pansy, the pain evident in her eyes. "I mean, I can understand if you're seeing another girl, but please don't just string me along…"

_Is there another girl? _Ginny asked curiously.

_**What? No!**_ Draco stated vehemently. _**I would never do that to her.**_

_Then what do you want me to say to her?_

_**I don't exactly want to be spilling my heart out to you.**_

_She's waiting for your answer, Malfoy, and I can't say anything for you…_

_**Tell her I know I've been distant, it's just…I don't know what I want anymore… I don't even know how I feel about her anymore.**_ _**Merlin, I can't believe I'm telling you this…**_

_Hurry it up, Malfoy. She's getting impatient._

_**Damn it! Just tell her**_ _**I don't know how I feel. I just need time to think.**_

"Pansy," Ginny said in as nice a voice as possible. "I know I've been distant and I'm sorry, but I don't know how I feel anymore. I just need time to think."

"I understand," said Pansy in a coldly dignified voice, standing up as she did.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked in surprise.

"I'm not just your girlfriend, Draco. I'm your friend, and until you start treating me with a bit more respect, I can't be with you. I'm sorry."

The raven-haired girl turned and left, tears sparkling in her eyes. Now it was Ginny and Draco left alone at the fountain.

_I'm sorry, Malfoy_. _I tried…Do you want me to go after her?_

_**No, it's okay. I guess I kind of knew it was going to happen.**_

_What happened between you two?_

_**What do you care?**_

_Just curious, I guess. It's a bit hard not to be after hearing all of that._

_**Mind your own business, Weasley.**_ _**I'm not going to discuss anything, especially my love life, with you. **_

_Fine, I get the point. _

_**Let's just get back to Blaise and Granger…**_

**OOOOOOOOO**

"How'd it go?" Blaise asked curiously, seeing Ginny come in the room looking a little frustrated, and even a little sad.

"Well, it didn't go that great," confided Ginny with a sigh. "Hermione, how do we change back?"

"Oh, that's easy," Hermione replied, standing up and pulling out her wand. "_Finite Incantatum._"

Immediately Ginny felt like something was leaving her, which she figured must be Draco's soul. She looked around and saw her body blink its eyes several times before taking a deep breath.

"I'm going to bed," Draco said quietly, and left the room, not even bothering to look at any of them.

Blaise frowned. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later," said Ginny, giving a pointed look at Hermione. She didn't think that Draco would be too thrilled to learn that she had been telling Hermione about his love life, and there was no point making this any worse for him.

"All right," Blaise replied, and turned his gaze towards Hermione. "Well, Granger, I guess I'll be seeing you around."

"Bye, Hermione. Thanks for everything," Ginny called over her shoulder, as she followed Blaise out of the room.

"Bye," said Hermione, frowning slightly as she watched them leave the room.

**OOOOO**

Ginny and Blaise settled down on a seat in the Slytherin common room, Blaise watching her intently, while Ginny gazed worriedly at the floor. She wasn't sure if it was her fault that Pansy and Draco had split up. Maybe if she hadn't been there he would not have been so uncomfortable to speak his feelings to Pansy? She knew Draco was angry with her, but then what else could she have done? It wasn't as if she chose to be stuck in his body, and, really, it was his own fault for treating Pansy like that, even if she did feel guilty for making it worse by getting smart to the Slytherin girl at breakfast…

"Alright, what's this about?" Blaise asked with a frown. "You've been acting weird ever since you got back from that date with Pansy."

Ginny sighed and proceeded to tell Blaise about what had happened on the date. She sneaked a look at Blaise's profile. He looked thoughtful.

"So she finally dumped him, eh?" Blaise mused out loud.

Ginny nodded her head. "I feel like it's my fault, and I know he's furious with me for not helping the situation, but I—"

"Don't feel guilty," said Blaise, cutting off any more words she might have said. "Draco deserved a wake up call. Pansy has always been our friend, we've known her since our cradle days, but she and Draco started liking each other. They've been dating since fourth year, but lately he's been unsure how he feels about her. He's been trying to keep his distance to figure things out, but since you two switched bodies, I guess things just kind of fell to pieces."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, Weasley," Blaise said kindly, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Draco's not going to kill you because Pansy broke up with him. If anything, you've done him a favour."

"Thanks Blaise," sighed Ginny. That certainly took a load off her shoulders. "Well, I'm pretty tired. I guess we should go to bed."

Blaise nodded and together they walked up to the Slytherin boys' dormitory.

**OOOO**

Draco lay in Ginny's bed, a bed he was quickly coming to detest. He stared at the roof, a scowl contorting his face. Everything was just so wrong at the moment. Pansy had dumped him, he was stuck in Weasley's body, and, to top it all off, he just had to be craving chocolate for some strange reason.

_Why does this have to happen to me?_ he thought to himself, disgruntled.

He was still angry that Ginny had been the one to overhear the date. Out of all the people in the school, he still didn't understand why _she_ had to be one he should swap bodies with. It was frustratingly embarrassing that Ginny had to hear all about his love life troubles, and no matter how much he tried to put it behind him, knowing that she had heard all of that was very disconcerting.

That was it. He would find a way to break this spell. He'd find that damn Granger and Blaise tomorrow and make them stay in the library until it killed them. There was just no way that he could stomach this any longer.


	6. Tricks of the Trade

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the Harry Potter world, or characters etc…

**Tricks Of The Trade**

Ginny opened her eyes and yawned as she sat up in the bed. Last night's talk with Blaise had helped her feel a little more charitable towards Draco, but that didn't change the fact that he was still unbelievably cocky, and acted like a complete jerk to her most of the time.

Blaise glanced at Ginny while pulling on his shirt, his black hair more tousled than ever. "You should think about getting up soon. We've got a Quidditch game today."

Ginny shot up in the bed, her eyes going wide. "What?"

"Even you should know that," Blaise replied with a grin, now slipping on his robe. "It is against Gryffindor after all."

Ginny's mouth dropped open as she realised the full implications of what this meant. Not only would she be playing against her own house, but her boyfriend and her brother. Things could not possibly be worse.

"You've got to be kidding," Ginny muttered in horror, still sitting frozen in the bed.

Blaise stared in the mirror, giving the last few touches to his robe, and then turned back to her with a mocking smile on his face. "Let's go, Captain. Unless you plan to sit in bed all day?"

Ginny held a hand to her head. "I forgot Draco is captain of the Slytherin team! What am I going to do, Blaise?"

"My advice? Start thinking up a plan for us players."

Ginny glared at him. She knew Blaise was enjoying every minute of her discomfort, and she doubted he was going to help her with this. She only hoped Draco was having the same problems.

**OOOOOOOO **

Draco looked in the mirror with disgust as he tied up the long red hair of the witch whose body he now occupied. He was going to have to play Slytherin in the Quidditch finals, and it was killing him just thinking about it. Not only that, but Ginny was going to be captaining his team and probably make them lose. Granted, she was an average seeker, but she was no match for him or Potter. Worse, still, he was going to have to be a chaser.

"This day is just getting better and better," he sighed to himself.

He trudged down to the common room and inwardly shuddered as he saw the whole Gryffindor team standing around waiting for the last few people to come in. Never had he felt so out of place as he did there standing surrounded by the crimson and gold players.

Harry smiled briefly at Draco and turned back to the team, a cheery expression on his face. It sickened Draco how they were so confident.

"Alright," Harry said loudly, to stop the constant chatter of the players. "Slytherin have got no chance in beating us this year. You all know the drills, so lets just get changed and have a good game!"

The Gryffindors cheered and began to make their way down to the Quidditch Pitch, still chatting excitedly about how many points they would beat Slytherin with this time. Draco could feel his hands clenching in frustration, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. It was just his luck to be stuck in the body of a silly Gryffindor during the final match of the Quidditch Cup.

He saw Ginny and Blaise walking side-by-side on the way to the pitch. Ginny had his broom slung over her shoulder, laughing slightly at something Blaise had said. She caught Draco's eye and smiled. He didn't know why, but her smile somehow gave him a small boost of confidence.

Feeling a little more relieved, Draco made his way into the changing room to get changed.

"Hey, Ginny, are you gonna show us some of those moves you were practising?" Katie Bell asked with a grin, while pulling on her Quidditch robes.

Draco really had no idea what she was talking about but he nodded all the same. "You'll just have to wait and see."

**OOOOOOOOO**

"Blaise," Ginny whispered urgently.

"What?" Blaise replied, glancing at her curiously as he opened his locker.

"Is there anywhere I can get changed?"

"Why?" Blaise asked with a sly smirk, giving her his full attention now.

"Because I'm not used to seeing so many practically naked guys everywhere, you idiot. What else?" Ginny hissed in frustration, annoyed that he was taking so much amusement from her situation. He obviously had no idea how very uncomfortable she was already feeling just seeing the boys stripping down to their pants, for there were no girls on the Slytherin team, and therefore no reason for there to be split sections.

"Wait till it's shower time then," grinned Blaise, and pulled off his own robes.

Ginny rolled her eyes and opened Draco's locker. "You're lucky I'm in Draco's body, Blaise, or you'll be regretting those words."

Blaise merely smirked and pulled out his Quidditch Uniform. Ginny glared at him but followed suit.

"Hurry up and get changed, Draco. The match is about to start," Crabbe grunted from near them, wearing nothing but green underwear that said 'Snake Pride.'

Ginny's eyes widened as she saw him. Without thinking, she quickly raced towards the toilet to escape the damaging sight, Blaise's laughter following her all the way. She really was not enjoying being a guy today…

**OOOOOOOOO **

"And the match begins," Luna declared dreamily from the stands, her voice magically echoing all around them.

Red and green clashed together as the players struggled to get to the quaffle first. Katie Bell grabbed the quaffle and raced towards the Slytherin goalposts, which were being guarded by a rather brutal looking Slytherin called Romulus Castrande. She lifted her hand to score, but Blaise Zabini, the star chaser of the Slytherin team, knocked the quaffle out of her hands, giving her a cheeky smirk as he passed the quaffle to Theodore Nott.

Draco couldn't help grinning a little as he watched his team flying effortlessly past the Gryffindors towards the goal post on the other side, but he wasn't going to just let this go. He may be competitive and want Slytherin to win, but to purposely lose a Quidditch game was not part of his code.

He sped towards Nott, doing a tricky loop as he swept under the Slytherin Chaser's broom, and took the quaffle. Everyone watched as Draco rocketed towards the Slytherin goalpost with determination. He ducked and swerved the bludgers with ease and then threw the quaffle hard into the ring behind Castrande. The Gryffindors erupted with cheers as the first goal was awarded, and Luna's dreamy voice resounded around the pitch, awarding Gryffindor ten points.

Ginny watched in shock, her mouth going oddly slack. She had no idea Draco was such a good flyer. He would have made a decent chaser. Even stranger was the fact that he had actually scored a goal against Slytherin: his team.

"Malfoy, what are you doing?" Nott yelled, as he sped past her. "You're meant to be looking for the snitch!"

Ginny jumped and looked around, sighing with relief as she saw Harry still searching frantically for the elusive glint of gold. Everything would be over if he managed to catch the snitch before her.

Just then she heard a scream that sounded oddly familiar. She turned her head in fright to see a bludger crash into Draco, sending him plummeting towards the ground, red hair and legs flailing helplessly.

"My body!" Ginny cried hysterically, losing her head completely at the sight of her own body falling sickeningly fast towards the ground.

She sped towards Draco, just catching him in her arms before any damage was made. He leaned against her, breathing heavily, and as their eyes met, Luna's magically magnified voice echoed around the pitch:

"Looks like Draco Malfoy has caught the damsel in distress. I wonder if he will give her a kiss?"

Ginny and Draco's expressions both twisted in disgust as they stared at each other, each horrified at the thought of kissing the other.

"Bring me by the broom," Draco demanded, looking a little uncomfortable and embarrassed at being held in her arms.

Ginny nodded, knowing there was no point in arguing with him right now, and brought him next to the hovering broom. He quickly clambered back on and sped off towards the Gryffindors, the game resuming once more.

Blaise came up by Ginny, his eyes dancing slightly in his amusement. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Ginny answered, still trying to catch her breath. "Damn that idiot Malfoy, though. He should be taking better care of my body! I could have got killed!!"

Blaise didn't have a chance to get his head around what she had said before Nott came soaring towards them.

"We're ready for the plan, Malfoy. Do you want us to do it now?"

Ginny nodded and gave the signal to the other Slytherins. Crabbe and Goyle grunted in acknowledgement and raised their clubs to the bludgers so they could aim at the Gryffindor chaser, Dean Thomas, who currently had the quaffle. Blaise, Nott and Warrington made a V formation as they swooped towards the Gryffindor chaser, each of their eyes fixed determinedly on the dark boy in front of them.

It was in that moment that Crabbe and Goyle hit the bludgers towards Dean, causing the quaffle to drop from his surprised hands, as he swerved to dodge the vicious attack. Blaise easily grabbed the ball from under him, and as a flawless sequence the Slytherin chasers passed the quaffle to each other to avoid bludgers and opponents, all three heading speedily towards the Gryffindor goal post.

Blaise caught the ball again and flew up close towards Ron, who was watching their moves in a hawk-like fashion. He raised his hand as if to score, but suddenly threw it diagonally. Ginny, who had been hovering by the goal, hit the quaffle with the back of her broom, sending it flying back to Blaise, who managed to score before Ron even had a chance to gather what had happened.

Ron let out an annoyed grunt as Luna's dreamy voice awarded Slytherin another ten points.

"Oh, come on that has to be a foul!" Katie shouted, her expression blazing with annoyance. "They used their seeker to help score a goal!"

Draco grinned, amused and slightly impressed by what had just happened. "I don't remember reading anywhere that a seeker couldn't accidentally hit the quaffle."

Katie huffed irritably and flew off to continue playing.

Rain started to fall in large droplets. People were becoming no more than a blurred mess in the air, but Ginny could still make out Harry's narrowed gaze as he flew around the pitch. She could see Draco speeding after Blaise as the cheeky Slytherin once more made his way towards the Gryffindor goalposts to score, while the beaters were now trying to hit each other rather then helping their own team mates.

"Malfoy, you'd better catch that snitch soon!" Warrington shouted as he came to hover by Ginny. "We're winning on seventy to fifty, and if Gryffindor get any more points they've won the cup anyway!"

Ginny nodded to show she understood. "I know."

She stared around the pitch, catching Blaise's amber eyes. He was staring at her with misgiving, as if wondering if she really would help Slytherin win: it was all up to her now, after all.

Ginny turned away from him and searched around the pitch, smiling in triumph as she saw a golden blur fly past her face. She wheeled around on her broom and saw Harry do the same. The commentary sounded muffled to her ears, but she thought she could hear Luna saying something about the snitch being seen.

Harry looked at her through narrowed eyes as he tried to outfly her towards the snitch. Ginny inwardly sighed. She knew she was no match for Harry but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try. She still had her end of the plan to uphold, after all.

Looking at Harry squarely in the eyes, Ginny winked and blew him a kiss. As expected, Harry was shocked and, much to Ginny's delight, distracted enough for him to pause in flight. This gave her just enough time to reach out her hand and snatch the snitch from right under his nose.

She caught his disbelieving gaze and allowed a broad grin to form on her lips, and then the Slytherins suddenly erupted with cheers. Ginny barely had time to realise that they had won before Blaise came speeding over and grabbed her in a bone-crunching hug. Soon all the Slytherins were swarming around her, trying to slap her on the back or just shouting "We Won! We Won!" over and over.

Draco watched his team mates practically jumping for joy as they slowly descended to the ground. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he saw Ginny emerge from the swarm of green, congratulating the Slytherins on their flying, a broad smile on her face.

"We lost," Harry said in disbelief from next to him. "We actually lost."

"It's only a game."

Harry still looked dejected, as did the other team members. Draco sighed to himself. He was glad Slytherin had won, but now he had to put up with a bunch of mopey Gryffindors. Really, it felt like he had lost anyway. He wouldn't even get to celebrate with his team.

"C'mon, team," Harry said to the bedraggled and miserable Gryffindors. "Showers."

Draco slowly made his way to the ground and started following the Gryffindors to the changing room, when he noticed Ginny and Blaise waiting for him.

"Good game," said Draco with a reluctant smile.

Ginny nodded cheerfully, still caught up in the tide of emotion from winning. "You could make a decent chaser, you know?"

Draco scratched his head, not really sure how to react to a compliment from a Weasley. "Well, you weren't so bad yourself," he said finally. "Mind you, I wouldn't normally use that tactic on Potter; he's going to think I'm a poof or something."

Ginny grinned cheekily. "I wouldn't worry. He already thinks that anyway."

Blaise laughed at that and slapped an arm around Ginny's back, leading her off towards the changing rooms. Draco watched them angrily, feeling just a little left out and annoyed that Blaise and Ginny were getting along so well.

"Stupid gits," Draco mumbled as he walked into the Gryffindor changing room to have a shower.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOO **

**One Week Later…**

Hermione walked leisurely down the hallway, glancing back behind her when she heard footsteps running towards her. She frowned as she saw Blaise Zabini's familiar dark hair and smiling face.

"Granger," Blaise said amiably, stopping in front of her.

"Zabini," Hermione replied stiffly.

"I thought we might try to find some info in the library now. If you're okay with that?" Blaise asked, smiling slightly at her protective stance.

Honestly, did she think he was going to pounce on her or something?

"I guess," Hermione answered, relaxing slightly, though her eyes still watched him intently.

"Good," said Blaise, and grabbed her by the arm, steering her off towards the library.

"W-wait, can I just—"

"I'm sure you can do whatever you need to do later," said Blaise cheerfully, and dragged her into the library, only letting her go once they were at a secluded table.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sat down at the table. "All right," she muttered in a defeated voice, realising that he wasn't going to give her a choice in the matter.

"That's the spirit," Blaise encouraged with an annoying grin.

Hermione sighed and shook her head slightly, watching as he took a seat opposite her. He really was a strange one, but she guessed she had no choice but to work with him if she wanted to help Ginny.

"Let's get this done quickly, then."

Blaise suddenly laughed. Hermione stared at him in surprise.

"You really need to loosen up, Granger. Not all Slytherins are evil Death Eaters."

Hermione jumped, her eyes searching the library frantically in case anyone was listening. "I never said that."

Blaise shrugged and played with a book. "I know that's what everyone thinks."

Hermione watched him curiously, slightly surprised by his words. "You don't seem to mind giving off that image."

"When have I given the impression that I am a Death Eater?" Blaise asked, amused.

Hermione frowned and tried to think of a time when she had seen Blaise Zabini acting strangely or in a horrible manner. She couldn't think of anything, and finally she had to admit that it was just her own perception of Slytherins that made her think all of them were evil Death Eaters.

"Okay, so maybe you don't, but you can't tell me that Malfoy doesn't."

Blaise laughed at that. It was true that Draco often gave Slytherins a bad name, though Draco would be quick to state otherwise.

"You could be right there, but don't judge us all from him. We're not so bad."

Hermione smiled dryly. "I'm sure."

"So, where should we start researching?" Blaise asked after a few seconds of silence.

Hermione summoned a few books from the shelves towards her. "How about these?"

Blaise picked up one of the books and immediately began to flick through the pages, his amber eyes scanning the words for any sign of how Draco and Ginny had switched bodies, and any ways to make them switch back.

As he read, he began to feel a strange gloominess settling over him. It was odd that as much as he wanted to help Ginny and Draco get back to their own bodies, he felt sad at the thought of saying goodbye to Ginny. She was always good for a laugh, and being stuck with her nearly every minute of the day made him realise how much he truly enjoyed her company. It would be strange to go back to how they used to be: him not talking to her at all, with her just ignoring him except to make a few smart comments here and there. He liked her for all her oddities, and he just knew that Draco would not appreciate him continuing the friendship if they ever did get their own bodies back.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

Blaise looked up and noticed she was staring at him intently. He shook his head, as if to say it was nothing, and tried to go back to reading the book, but he could feel her eyes still watching him.

"Yes, Granger?" he said in a voice a lot less carefree than it normally was.

He and Draco did have some things in common, not appreciating people snooping into his business being one of them.

"Something is troubling you. Is it about Malfoy and Ginny's situation?"

Blaise shook his head, a sigh escaping from his lips. "It's nothing, Granger. Let's just keep researching this so that we don't have Draco breathing down our necks again."

Hermione smiled. "I'll agree with you there."

They went back to reading the books. Blaise inwardly sighed, wondering what would happen to them all once things went back to normal. Would he and Ginny remain such good friends, or would it be too weird? He guessed only time would tell, but one thing he did know for sure was that he was beginning to feel a lot fonder of Ginny Weasley than he used to.

He raised his eyes and stared at Hermione, a frown on his lips. She knew Ginny well, and they were obviously good friends…

"Granger?" Blaise began hesitantly, unsure of how to put his thoughts into words, and still trying to figure out just what those thoughts were anyway.

"Yes?" Hermione replied, not looking up from the book.

"Does Weasley ever talk about me?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, looking up at him with a frown on her face.

Blaise shifted uncomfortably, noticing that she was a little too perceptive for his likings. Still, he'd come this far—might as well go the rest of the way.

"Well, I mean, has she mentioned me before to you?"

Hermione stared at him blankly. "She's mentioned you, yes, but what's it to you?"

Blaise sighed, realising Hermione Granger's dislike of Slytherins would probably mean he'd get nothing interesting from her. He had to try though, for he was curious to know how Ginny felt about him.

"Well, what did she say?" he persisted.

Hermione frowned, and stared at him through sharp eyes. He had the feeling she was seeing right through him, but she suddenly sighed and placed the book down on the table, giving him her full attention.

"She talks about you a lot if you really want to know; always telling me how funny you are, and how much she enjoys talking to you…"

Blaise smiled, pleased that he at least was not the only one enjoying the other's company.

"She says you look out for her, which she's grateful for, and she also tells me that you can be very annoying when you want to be, but she doesn't mind because she sees you as a good friend now."

"Is that all?" Blaise asked curiously.

Hermione raised her eyebrow slightly, a frown coming to her lips. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Blaise shook his head. "Don't be stupid. She's in Draco's body; there is no way I am asking her anything like that when she looks like him."

Hermione laughed, a knowing look coming to her face. "I see. So it's like that, is it?"

Blaise frowned to himself. Was it like that? He really didn't know, but he did know that he enjoyed talking to her. She was witty, spunky, and she knew how to put people in their place. He admired her a lot, and the fact that he felt attracted to her even when she wasn't in her own body said a lot; after all, he was no more attracted to Draco Malfoy than he was the giant squid.

"Let's just get back to researching this, okay?" Hermione said firmly.

Blaise nodded his head and returned to the books, his mind now more troubled than ever with thoughts of Ginny Weasley and the confusing feelings he felt for her…


	7. Misunderstandings

**Misunderstandings**

Ginny walked down the hallway, feeling slightly annoyed. She was looking for Blaise, who had run off muttering something about libraries. To her surprise, she saw Hermione walking ahead of her, looking very troubled and mumbling to herself. Ginny wondered what was wrong with her bookish friend and decided to find out.

"Hermione!" Ginny called as she jogged to catch up.

Hermione stopped and turned to look at Ginny, and her eyes widened. "Oh, it's you," she said a little nervously

Ginny frowned. Why did Hermione look so uncomfortable to see her? Surely the brunette must have got over the fact that Ginny looked like Draco by now?

"Is something wrong?" Ginny asked curiously.

"You and Zabini get along, right?" Hermione asked suddenly with a worried expression on her face.

Ginny blinked in surprise. She had no idea why Hermione was talking to her about Blaise, let alone why her friend seemed upset about the fact that she and Blaise might get along. It wasn't a crime to befriend Slytherins, after all.

"Yes," Ginny answered, frowning. "Why?"

"I—It's nothing," Hermione replied quickly, and she started to walk ahead.

Ginny frowned even more as she wondered what Blaise could have possibly done to make Hermione so anxious.

"What did he do?" she demanded. "Did he say something to you?"

"He … well, we talked a bit, and, well… he said some interesting things," Hermione muttered, still with the same nervous expression on her face.

Ginny was beginning to feel more than a little alarmed now, not to mention annoyed that Hermione wasn't telling her what it was that Blaise had said.

"What did he say?" the younger girl persisted.

Hermione looked around cautiously, checking to see if anyone was watching. She then grabbed Ginny by the arm and steered her off to an unused classroom. Neither of them noticed the blue eyes that narrowed as the door shut behind them.

**OOOOO **

Ron peeled his eyes away from Hermione and Ginny, who he thought was Draco, and looked at Harry. "Did you see that?" he asked angrily, and, indeed, looked like he was about to explode.

Harry nodded blankly, too stunned to make any coherent speech. Ron slapped a hand on Harry's back and pulled the other boy closer into the shadows.

"That's the second time this week I've seen Hermione go running off with Draco Malfoy," Ron muttered in a dark voice. "And just the other day, I saw her go running off with Blaise Zabini. But it's not just Hermione who seems to have gone mental; I also saw _Ginny_ walking with Malfoy, and they went into an unused classroom as well." Ron gave a meaningful look. "We all know the only reason people go into unused classrooms..."

Harry looked horrified by this disclosure, clearly disturbed by the image that Ron had created in his head. "Do you think Ginny is cheating on me with Malfoy?"

"It's obvious he is, and he clearly isn't satisfied with just having Ginny and decided to go after Hermione too – the sneaky git," Ron added with a dissatisfied expression on his face.

"We have to do something!" Harry shouted, his green eyes blazing with jealousy.

"Shh!" Ron scolded. "Not so loud, Harry. We have to go about this quietly. We can't have the girls knowing what we're doing." He grimaced. "You know how they get when they think we're interfering."

"But that's my girlfriend!" Harry cried in an outraged voice.

Ron nodded in understanding and then he glanced around to make sure that no one was listening in. He leaned in closer to Harry, a conspiratorial look on his face.

"Here's what we'll do…"

**OOOO**

Ginny looked at Hermione sharply. She didn't like all of this talk about Blaise or the worried expressions Hermione kept giving her. Something was up, and she was determined to find out what.

"Okay, Hermione," Ginny began in a calm voice, "what's this about?"

Hermione sighed and sat down on the chair opposite Ginny. "Blaise asked me to go research with him in the library. It was fine until he started asking me some weird questions."

Ginny just stared at her, unsure what to think or say. She knew that Hermione and Blaise had been researching in the library for ways to help her and Draco to get their bodies back, but they usually did it with both herself and Draco there as well. They had never gone there just by themselves.

"What do you think of Zabini, Ginny?" Hermione asked, a curious expression on her face.

Ginny swallowed slightly, surprised by the odd question. She noticed that Hermione was staring at her intently, and she suddenly felt like she was being interrogated.

"He's nice, I guess. Why?" Ginny asked with a frown.

"Well, do you think he's good looking? Attractive?" Hermione persisted.

Ginny's brow creased slightly as she wondered why Hermione would be asking her such things. It didn't make sense at all, but as she took in Hermione's narrowed eyes and interrogative expression, she suddenly thought that she understood. Hermione liked Blaise, and now she was trying to find out whether Ginny did too.

"I don't like him in that way, if that's what you're wondering," Ginny replied in a quiet voice, trying to keep her temper in check.

She was annoyed that Hermione had cornered her like this. It was as if the brunette was accusing her of trying to steal Blaise's affections. Ginny had no idea that Hermione was such a jealous person, for Ginny herself had never done anything to show that she liked Blaise, let alone given a reason for Hermione to act this way towards her.

"Alright then," Hermione said in a relieved voice. "That's all I needed to know."

Hermione stood up and gave Ginny a brief smile as she headed to the door. "I've got to catch up on some homework, but I'll try get some more research done tonight for Malfoy's and your condition."

Ginny nodded her head and watched her friend leave the room. She still felt stunned from the strange interrogation she had just received, and it still seemed so odd to her that Hermione fancied Blaise.

She sighed as she stood up from her chair and opened the door, only to stop in fright as she was immediately accosted by Ron and Harry, who were both wearing identical grim expressions.

"Malfoy, how nice of you to finally join us," Ron muttered darkly.

Ginny inwardly sighed as she met her brother and boyfriend's displeased expressions. This was not going to be pretty.

"What are you playing at with Ginny?" Harry demanded coldly.

Ginny stared at him in surprise. She had not expected his anger for Draco to be about her.

"What?" she asked, if a little nervously.

Just what was going on?

"Don't try and lie to us Malfoy!"Ron retorted, red-faced. "I've seen you sneaking off with Ginny, and just before I saw you go off with Hermione into that unused classroom. Enjoy a good snog, did you?"

"W-what?" Ginny stammered.

Were they insane?

"Don't try and play dumb," Harry snapped. "We saw you take her in there."

Ron nodded. "We see you all the time. You and that git Zabini."

Ginny couldn't help it; she burst out laughing.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard all day," she choked out between giggles.

Harry glared at her. Ron, however, looked like he wanted to punch her.

"Why you—" he began, lunging forward.

"Ron!" Draco shouted, placing himself in front of Ginny with an annoyed expression on his face. "What are you doing?"

"Stay out of this!" Ron growled, pushing Draco out of the way.

Ginny smirked, unable to resist getting back at them. "Why don't you tell her why you're trying to beat me to a pulp? I'm sure she'll find it just as amusing as I did."

Draco looked at Ginny sharply, and then he turned back to Ron with an enquiring expression on his face. Ron shifted uncomfortably and threw a look at Harry to help him out.

"Well?" Draco prompted impatiently, his eyes switching from one boy to the next.

"Ginny, have you been cheating on me with Malfoy?" Harry asked, his green eyes filled with hurt and betrayal.

"Of course not," Draco replied blankly, clearly at a loss as to how that accusation came about. "What gave you that idea?"

"We always see you two sneaking off together," Ron cut in. "Even Hermione was in the unused classroom with him just before, and we've seen Zabini with you too."

Draco stared at them for a moment, and then, slowly, a sly grin formed on his face. "Do you really want me to say what we were doing?"

Ginny felt the small pangs of misgiving and looked at Draco warningly, knowing that whatever he was going to say would not help the situation. Ron and Harry were oblivious to the Slytherin boy's mischievous air, however, and merely nodded their heads.

"Well," Draco began with a grin, "first of all, Draco and I were having a nice old snog-fest in the classroom. Then Hermione came in, so we allowed her to join us. Oh, and you know Blaise came in the room too, so we decided to have a massive orgy. I'm sorry we didn't invite you; I would have if I'd known you'd get this way."

Ginny had to try and stifle a giggle, but she only succeeded in making an odd choking noise. Ron glared at her furiously, and she quickly fell silent.

"This isn't a joke, Ginny," Harry retorted angrily. "What are you doing with a piece of scum like him?"

Draco sighed, clearly tired of their accusations. "Oh, shut up and leave me alone," he muttered, and then he grabbed Ginny by the arm and pulled her away from the furious Gryffindors.

Once they were well away from the fuming duo, he released Ginny, who was still desperately trying not to giggle, and folded his arms as he regarded the girl beside him.

"How thick can you get?" he asked rhetorically.

He had never heard such stupid accusations in his life, and that was saying something. He was friends with Crabbe and Goyle, after all.

Ginny finally burst out laughing now that it was safe, and clutched the wall to support herself, practically crying with mirth. "Did you see their faces?" she choked out through laughs. "They looked so outraged."

Draco couldn't help but laugh too. They really had looked funny with their morally outraged expressions.

Ginny finally managed to regain control of herself, though her eyes continued to twinkle with amusement. "I can't believe they would think that Hermione and I would be going off to snog _you_."

"I resent that!" Draco retorted. "Just what are you implying?"

Ginny giggled and pushed him lightly on the arm. "Don't be so vain. You know that we don't like you. Besides, Hermione fancies Blaise."

Draco stared at her in surprise. "What?"

Ginny nodded, and some of the laughter died out of her eyes. "Yeah. She as good as told me before."

Draco let out a small snigger. "So the Mudblood finally hit puberty, eh?"

"Don't call her a Mudblood! And this isn't as funny as you might think. It's going to make things much more difficult for us."

"Why?"

"Because she thinks that I like him too," Ginny responded simply.

"And do you?" Draco asked sharply.

"No, but that doesn't change the fact that she'll be less likely to go near him now that she likes him. I know what she's like, and I know that she'll be too shy to be around him now that she has feelings for him."

Draco rolled his eyes. "So while they battle out their silly love problems, we're stuck in each other's bodies?" He sighed and leant grumpily against the wall. "Do they even realise that Christmas is coming up and we will be expected to go home?"

Ginny shook her head. "I think they're too worked up about their own tangled love lives. I just wish this whole thing was over."

"Tell me about it. I never realised how horrible it is to be a girl until now."

Ginny looked at him in surprise, and then she let out an inelegant snort. "No, don't tell me – it's that time of the month!"

Draco blushed and averted his face, looking just as uncomfortable as he must feel.

"It's certainly not easy, that's for sure," he muttered. "I'll never mock a woman's pain tolerance again."

For the third time that day, Ginny burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Wow, this day just keeps getting better and better."

"Shut up, Weasley," Draco retorted threateningly.

Ginny began to walk down the corridor, still chuckling to herself at the thought of Draco Malfoy experiencing a period.

"Where are you going?" he demanded grumpily.

"I'm going to look for Blaise," Ginny replied with a small smirk, and then she walked off, leaving Draco standing there with a bitter expression on his face.

He knew that she was enjoying his discomfort in being a girl, and he only hoped that hers was just as bad in being a boy.

**OOOO **

Ginny found Blaise sitting at a table in the library, completely engrossed with the book in his hands. From this vantage point, she had free reign to take her fill of him, and as she watched him read, Ginny thought that she could understand why Hermione would fall for Blaise. He was extremely handsome in a way that both Draco and Harry could never hope to aspire to. His black hair, slightly curly and always tousled, perfectly shaped his well-structured face. His tan skin looked smooth and warm, and then there were those amazing amber eyes that always seemed to be filled with mischief, yet also gentleness. He dressed elegantly, and his personality far outstripped his friend's, since he was both nice and funny, while Draco was often mean and sarcastic.

Blaise suddenly looked, as though he could feel her gaze, and he gave her a warm smile. Ginny thought she could fall in love with him herself when he smiled like that.

"Hey," Ginny said, coming to sit down next to him.

Blaise placed his book down. "What brings you to the library, Ginevra? I don't normally see you here unless Granger or I drag you."

Ginny looked at him in surprise. He had never called her by her first name before; he normally just called her 'Weasley'. She shook off such trivial thoughts and glanced at the books he was reading.

"What's this?"

"It's a book on different switching spells and potions. I'm trying to see if there is anything that might help us get your body back in there."

Ginny frowned. Both he and Hermione were putting so much effort into helping her and Draco get their bodies back, but they were still no closer to getting it done then they were two weeks ago. She still couldn't believe it had been this long.

"Something wrong?" Blaise asked with a frown.

Ginny shook her head. "I just can't believe that I have been pretending to be Draco Malfoy for two weeks.

Blaise laughed. "You're right, it has been a rather long time. I imagine it has been quite an experience for you."

Ginny nodded her head as she thought of all the things that had happened while she had been Draco Malfoy.

"It's strange," she said slowly, "but even though I really don't like being Draco himself, I kind of don't mind it at the same time."

"Must be the charming friends. Crabbe and Goyle would make any person want to stay as Draco, if only to listen to their stimulating conversations."

Ginny laughed heartily at this. The amber-eyed boy really was a fun person to be with, even if he was Draco Malfoy's best friend. She suddenly remembered that Hermione liked him, and a small sigh escaped her lips. She almost felt like she wasn't allowed to talk to Blaise anymore, but that was just stupid. Besides, she enjoyed being with him, and so Hermione would just have to handle it.

"Come on," Ginny said firmly as she stood up, "enough with the musty old books. Let's go do something."

Blaise grinned appreciatively and gathered the books that were sprawled out on the table into his bag.

"As you command," he said with a laugh, and followed her out of the library.

**OOOO **

Draco stalked into the common room and sighed as he saw Hermione sitting on the seat making her stupid elf hats again. He walked over moodily and collapsed on the couch next to her, and another sigh escaped his lips.

Hermione looked at him in surprise. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Draco shrugged and idly picked up a book, but that failed to interest him. He gazed back at Hermione and remembered that Ginny had said she liked Blaise. In a way, he found that rather hard to believe. If he had known any better, he would have thought that Hermione liked Harry or Ron, but then he guessed he was certainly no expert on the feelings of Mudbloods.

"Is there something on my face?" Hermione asked with a frown.

Draco shook his head, sighing despondently again as he leaned back against the chair. He was so bored. What he wouldn't give to be in his own body right now, and in his own room with his own friends. Two weeks he had spent being a girl; two weeks he had spent being bored out of his mind, losing Quidditch games, and watching the daughter of his father's mortal enemy becoming close friends with _his_ best friend. To top it all off, he just had to have cramps, or whatever it was that females called them.

"This sucks," Draco muttered under his breath.

He angrily threw a book on the floor. Hermione stared at him curiously, but she wisely refrained from saying anything. Draco gave a frustrated groan and stood up again to trudge to his room, inwardly praying that somehow he would wake up back in his own body again tomorrow so that he could escape this hellish lifestyle he had been forced to live. He just wanted to be himself again.


	8. Never Kiss and Tell

**Never Kiss and Tell **

It had been three days since the Gryffindor boys had confronted Ginny and Draco outside the unused classroom. Hermione and Blaise had still not been able to find a solution for the strange body switching, and Draco knew that Ginny was feeling the frustration of not having her body back just as much as he did.

He turned the corner of the hallway, a disgruntled expression on his face, when he heard Harry calling out to him.

"Hey, Ginny! Wait up!" Harry hollered, jogging towards him.

Draco sighed and reluctantly came to a halt.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" Harry asked when he finally caught up to the Slytherin boy.

Draco frowned to himself. He was not really sure what to say. He couldn't very well tell Harry that he was not Ginny Weasley, and therefore had no feelings for him. He had to think of some kind of excuse to explain the distance he had put between himself and Harry.

"I've been busy," Draco answered in a dismissive voice, inwardly hoping that Harry would just leave it there.

He started to walk away again, but Harry suddenly grabbed his arm and moved closer to him.

"Ginny, what's wrong with you?" Harry asked in a low voice, his eyes locked on Draco's.

"N-nothing," Draco stammered, startled by Harry's sudden closeness.

Harry moved even closer, and Draco began to feel very uncomfortable. He squirmed awkwardly in the other boy's hold, wondering what he could do to get himself out of this sticky situation.

"Look, Ginny," Harry began in a tired voice, "I don't want us to fall apart. I know I haven't been very attentive, but I promise things will get better."

Draco gazed at him in horror, sickened by Harry's sudden sentimental behaviour. If Harry had any idea that it was Draco he was talking to, he doubted that Harry would be looking at him with such a soppy expression on his face, or holding him so closely for that matter.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but—"

"Please, Ginny, just give me another chance!" Harry pleaded.

"I don't know what—"

But Harry's feelings had finally got the better of him. He placed his hands on Draco's face and, much to the Slytherin boy's horror, kissed him firmly on the lips.

Draco was so stunned that it took him a full three seconds to realise what was happening. Then a look of revulsion flashed across his face, and he instinctively thrust Harry away him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Draco yelled in disgust.

He wiped his lips with his hand and tried hard not to vomit. All he could think was that Harry had kissed him. That bespectacled idiot with his stupid scar had kissed him! Oh, Merlin, was he tainted now!

Harry looked confused and a little hurt at Draco's sudden outburst, but right now Draco didn't care. He was tired of pretending to be Ginny, and even more tired of escaping Harry's advances. That kiss had been the final straw.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry shouted back, pain quickly turning to rage.

"Don't you get it?" Draco retorted angrily, too furious to even consider the consequences of what his behaviour could mean. "I don't like you!"

"Fine!" Harry spat furiously. "I've had enough. We're through!"

"Good!" Draco yelled back, his face red with angry splotches.

"Fine," Harry repeated in a huffy voice. "I don't care. You were always hanging around that ferret Draco Malfoy anyway. Well, now you're free to go off and snog him to your heart's content."

Draco laughed suddenly. "I might do just that," he said with a grin, knowing that it would rile Harry up even more.

Harry glared at him wordlessly for a moment and then stalked off down the corridor. Draco walked back in the opposite direction, his hands clenching into fists as he thought of all that had happened. He was still fuming at the thought that Harry had kissed him.

He suddenly laughed to himself as he wondered how Ginny was going to take the news that Harry had dumped her because of him.

**OOOO**

"YOU WHAT!" Ginny screamed when Draco told her what had happened.

He shrugged and tried to look unaffected by Ginny's obvious seething anger, but he could tell that she was beyond angry; he should know, for it was his face he was looking at.

"I can't believe you made Harry dump me for your own selfishness!" Ginny shouted hysterically.

"Look, it seemed like it was going to happen anyway," Draco replied with forced nonchalance. "I don't know what you're so angry about."

Draco watched as Ginny's face contorted with fury, and he actually backed away slightly. She suddenly leapt on him, sending them sprawling to the ground, their arms and legs flailing in a tangled mess.

"YOU STUPID, ANNOYING IDIOT!!!" Ginny screeched in absolute fury, attempting to hit every inch of him that she could reach with her hands, and not even caring if it was her own body she was attacking.

"Weasley, get off!" Draco yelled while squirming underneath her. "You're killing me!"

Ginny ignored him, still shouting furiously as she held him pinned to the ground.

"I'm serious, GET OFF!" Draco bellowed, desperately trying to push her off him.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" a loud voice shouted from above them.

Draco and Ginny both looked up rather apprehensively to see Professor McGonagall looking down at them, an expression of complete shock and fury on her face. Her nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed to make her look positively hawk-like.

"This sort of behaviour is not tolerated in the school," McGonagall admonished harshly. "Fifty points will be taken from both Slytherin and Gryffindor, and both of you will receive a detention. You will be serving it tonight in the Great Hall, and I do not want to see anymore of this disgusting behaviour again."

Ginny quickly scrambled up off Draco and nodded her head, her face red from embarrassment. Draco stood up slowly off the ground, wincing slightly from Ginny's attack, and also nodded his head.

"Good, now both of you out of my sight," she snapped coldly, and swept off down the hallway.

Draco gave Ginny an annoyed glance once McGonagall had passed from their view. "Thanks a lot, Weasley," he said bitterly. "You just got us a detention because you can't control your temper."

"Well, you shouldn't have made Harry dump me then," Ginny retorted angrily. "I just can't believe you would do this! This is my life you're ruining!"

Draco raised an eyebrow at her. "Come on, Weasley, you can't be serious in thinking that Potter was the perfect boyfriend. I've had to put up with him for almost three weeks now and I don't know how you did it."

Ginny was silent, for once not having an angry retort. Draco was right, of course. Harry was hardly ever around since he was always running off with Ron and Hermione to do crazy adventures, and she was always the one left behind. Sure they kissed and went on dates, but Harry had always seemed preoccupied. It was almost as if he was using her as a distraction to his life and the problems in it.

"Just leave me alone, Malfoy," Ginny said quietly.

Draco looked at her sad expression and felt something tug at his heart. Was it pity?

"Weasley, I—"

"You've already done enough," Ginny said firmly, her eyes now dead. "Please, just leave me alone."

Draco sighed as he watched her walk away. For some reason he felt worse than when Harry had kissed him. Was it possible that he actually cared about the little Weasley's feelings? That couldn't be right; he hated her. Maybe it was just the effects of being in her body for so long? Yes, that must be it. Malfoys did not care about Weasleys, after all…

Right?

**OOOO **

Ginny sat brooding by the Slytherin common room fire. She didn't know whether to be sad or angry, but she was still upset all the same.

The stone wall to the common room opened and Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle all walked in with smug expressions on their faces. She glanced up briefly and then turned her gaze back to the fire, not really wanting to hear what escapade they had got up to.

"What's up with you?" Blaise asked, the smug expression vanishing to one of concern as he noticed her mood.

He sat down next to her on the seat, watching her with a worried frown. Crabbe and Goyle walked off to go look at the new toy they had 'borrowed'.

Ginny gave a hollow laugh. "Malfoy made Harry dump me."

Blaise frowned slightly. "He did what?"

Ginny nodded and looked at Crabbe and Goyle, who appeared to have broken the toy. Sighing to herself, she let her gaze fall back to her lap.

"For some reason, I don't feel as angry as I should."

"What do you mean?" Blaise asked curiously.

Ginny shrugged, not really sure how to explain it. "I realise now that he doesn't love me, and I know that I don't love him, but I guess I felt almost obligated to date him." She sighed again and leaned back against the couch. "I've had a crush on Harry since I was ten, but now I see that's all it ever was – just a crush."

"So it was a good thing he dumped you then," Blaise said slowly, watching keenly for her reaction.

Ginny shrugged again. "I guess. I'm still angry that Malfoy made him dump me though. I should've been the one to tell him."

"That's understandable, but, hey, look on the bright side of things; you just got Draco to do your dirty work for you, and now you don't have to put up with Potter's sulking and erratic outbursts."

Ginny laughed in appreciation and wondered how it was that Blaise always seemed to make her laugh even when she had no reason to. Before she could even say anything though, Crabbe's voice suddenly interrupted their covert conversation.

"Hey, Draco, it looks like your owl has got a letter for you."

"Oh," Ginny said, surprised.

She glanced up to see Crabbe opening the window to let the eagle owl in. She wondered who it was from, not having received any letters from anyone the whole two and half weeks she had been Draco Malfoy.

Ginny stood up from the chair and walked over to take the letter from the owl. The envelope was a dark green parchment and felt heavy in her hands; it was certainly nothing that her family could afford.

Ginny sat back down next to Blaise and gave him a sly look as she held the green envelope. "Should we open it?"

Blaise shrugged, his own sly grin forming. "I guess he deserves it. Sure, let's open it."

Ginny nodded and opened the letter, revealing another thick piece of parchment that had a faintly floral scent.

"What does it say?" Blaise asked curiously as he leaned towards her to read the letter.

Ginny peered down at the parchment to read the flowing and very feminine writing:

_My darling Draco,_

_Why have you not been writing to me? I have been worried sick that something has happened to you. You know that I like you to write to me at least once every week, for I do miss you terribly when you are away from home. Your father thinks I am silly for getting so worried, but what would I do if my precious baby were hurt? You know how much I love you, dear, so please ease my mind and don't leave me in such long periods of silence again._

_Now, before you get all worked up, just know that I didn't write to you just to scold you for not writing to your poor mother. I wanted to tell you that we are having Christmas at home this year, so I'll come to pick you up from the station. I simply cannot wait to see you again. You've probably grown so much since the last time I saw you, and I'm sure all the girls must love you, for who could resist my handsome little dragon?_

_Well, your father is fussing at me to hurry up and send the letter; we're about to go visit the Parkinsons for lunch. Send my love to Pansy and Blaise, and take good care of yourself. I'll see you tomorrow, darling._

_Love, _

_Mother._

"It's from his mother," Ginny said with a small smile.

She was unable to repress her amusement at Narcissa's obvious fondness for her son, and had almost snorted out loud when she had read '_my handsome little dragon_'. She realised that this one letter had given her a lot of good ammunition – that was, if she was brave enough to tell Draco that she had read his letter.

"Oh, she mentioned me," Blaise said. "Funny, Draco told me that Narcissa didn't like me. Or maybe she just didn't like my mother."

Ginny smiled and shook her head slightly, not really having anything to say to that. She glanced at the clock and suddenly felt her stomach plummet.

"Oh, shoot!" Ginny shouted, and quickly stood up.

"What?" Blaise asked, startled by her sudden exclamation.

"I forgot my detention!" Ginny cried agitatedly and all but ran out of the common room.

**OOOO**

Ginny walked into the Great Hall to see Draco looking very bored, and Professor McGonagall very stern. Both of them looked up as she walked in, identical expressions of impatience crossing their faces.

"You're late, Mr Malfoy," McGonagall said crossly, her eyes narrowed.

"Sorry, Professor," Ginny apologised.

McGonagall sniffed and looked at them both unsympathetically. "For your detention, you are going to work together in polishing the floors of the Great Hall with no magic. I will know if you use a spell, so don't even try it."

Draco and Ginny exchanged horrified glances.

"I only hope this will teach you not to behave in such a disgusting way again," she continued coldly, and used her wand to make two cloths and bottles of polish appear. "I suggest you start now. I'll be checking to see what you have done later."

Draco and Ginny watched as Professor McGonagall walked out of the Great Hall, then immediately turned on each other.

"This is all your fault!" they cried in unison.

"My fault?" they both exclaimed incredulously.

"Oh, blaming each other isn't going to work," Ginny said tiredly, realising that both of them were far too stubborn to admit who was right or wrong. "Let's just do this."

Draco scowled to himself and picked up one of the cloths and bottles of polish. He plonked himself down on the ground and started polishing the floor, a rather venomous expression on his face. Ginny doubted that he had ever had to polish anything by hand before, let alone clean at all, for he was putting far too much polish on one spot.

"You need to use less polish if you want to do it properly," Ginny advised, watching him leave large, streaky marks on the floor.

Draco lifted up his face, looking almost as if he had just swallowed Bubotuber pus.

"Well, I'm sorry," Draco muttered in a long-suffering voice. "It's not every day that I have to polish floors."

Ginny sighed, grabbed the remaining bottle of polish and the other cloth, and sat down next to him.

"Look," she said as nicely as possible. "All you do is put a small amount on the cloth, like this, and then gently rub it into the wood. A small part will go a long way, and you don't need to pour it all over the floor."

Draco scowled at her. "I don't need your help, Weasley."

Ginny shook her head in exasperation and started polishing her own part of the floor. She looked up when he wasn't watching and saw him covertly put a little bit of the polish on the cloth and start rubbing it into the floor. He gave a small scowl when he realised she had been right. He suddenly looked up and caught her gaze, glaring slightly. Ginny looked down again and continued to polish the floor, but a small smile lingered on her lips.

**Two Hours Later…**

"Okay, what's your favourite Quidditch team?" Ginny asked as she looked up at the starry sky above her.

She and Draco were both stretched out on their backs, side-by-side. Their polishing duties had been abandoned for the mean time while they had a rest.

"Easy," Draco said. "Falmouth Falcons, of course."

Ginny laughed. "Same."

"I would have thought you'd be a Chudley Canons fan," Draco replied mockingly.

"No way. They're terrible!" Ginny declared bluntly, sitting up on her elbows to look at him better.

Draco smiled and stared up at the starry ceiling above them. It was strange how much he and Ginny had in common, really. They liked the same Quidditch team, the same music, though, thankfully, not the same books. Draco could never bring himself to stomach those trashy romance novels she seemed to love to read.

"I wonder how they did that," Ginny mused aloud as she stared at the stars twinkling above him.

"Did what?" Draco asked curiously.

"How they made the night sky reflect itself on the ceiling."

Draco shrugged. "Magic, obviously."

"I know that. I just wondered _how_."

"Well, I don't know."

Ginny frowned as they both fell into their own thoughts. She looked at Draco, suddenly remembering Narcissa's letter. If they didn't get their bodies back before tomorrow, Narcissa wouldn't even get to see her son. Instead, she'd be seeing Ginny pretending to be him.

"Do you think we'll ever get our bodies back, Malfoy?" Ginny asked dejectedly as she realised she would not be able to see her own family for Christmas. "I mean, the Christmas holidays are tomorrow, and if we're still stuck like this, we won't be able to go home to our families."

Draco sighed and ran a hand tiredly over his eyes. "I've been thinking about that too, but what can we do? Hopefully things will just work out."

Ginny nodded, knowing that there really was nothing they could do except hope for the best. She glanced up at the clock and sighed, realising how late it was getting.

"Well, I guess we better finish polishing these floors."

"I suppose," Draco agreed as he sat up off the ground. "McGonagall might come back again, anyway."

"Oh, you're right," Ginny said quickly, and immediately began polishing the floor.

Draco picked up his cloth and worked beside Ginny. The boredom of polishing floors settled in once again. They only had a little bit left to go, but that little bit was proving to be a mammoth task.

"You know, Malfoy," Ginny began in a thoughtful voice.

"Yeah?" Draco said absently as he polished the floor.

"When we get our bodies back, will you—I mean—we can still be friends, right?" Ginny asked quickly.

Draco sat up straight and looked at her, slightly taken aback by her question. She had never tried to approach him in this way before, and he had never really given it a thought either.

"You call me your friend?" he asked in surprise, not really knowing what else to say to that.

Ginny shrugged, her cheeks flushing a light pink. "Well, Blaise and I have got quite close, and I wouldn't want you and I to go back to mindlessly baiting each other."

Draco stared at her disbelievingly, realising that she was actually being serious. She wanted to be his friend, and she actually already considered him to be one.

"So you want to be friends with me?" he repeated a little incredulously.

Ginny nodded, and her posture became a little defensive at his constant questioning. "Yeah, is that so hard to believe?"

Draco shook his head, knowing himself that it would be impossible for them to go back to how they used to be. Somewhere, deep down under all his pride, he realised that for quite a while now he had been considering her a friend – admittedly an annoying one, but a friend all the same.

"No," Draco answered finally. "I don't think it is possible for us to go back to how we were. I know too much about you; I have been pretending to be you for almost three weeks, after all."

"So I guess we're friends then?" Ginny asked, holding out her hand with a small smile.

Draco nodded and took her hand, his own trademark smirk coming to his lips. "I guess we are."

They looked at each other and suddenly laughed, both amused at the fact that a Weasley and a Malfoy were friends.

The odd friends soon went back to polishing the floors with a much more companionable atmosphere surrounding them. Neither of them noticed the teary-eyed Professor McGonagall watching from the doors.

**OOOO **

Draco walked into the Gryffindor common room later that night and sat down next to Hermione. A small groan escaped his lips as he flexed his aching hands. They had spent hours polishing that stupid floor.

"How'd your detention go?" Hermione asked in an almost friendly manner while her wand methodically knitted elf hats beside her.

"It was alright," Draco replied absently.

He was still thinking of how funny it was when Ginny slipped over after they had finished polishing the floor.

"Hey, Ginny, have you got your stuff packed?" Ron asked as he plonked himself down on the chair next to Draco.

"Packed for what?" Draco asked slowly, not having any idea what Ron was talking about.

"We're going home tomorrow. Didn't I already tell you that?" Ron asked, his eyebrows almost disappearing into his hair.

"No," Draco said bluntly.

"Oh, well we are. Better get packing then," Ron said with a careless grin.

Draco stared at the floor with a growing sensation of foreboding. He was going to have to spend Christmas with the Weasleys. This was going to be awful.


	9. Meeting the Family

**Meeting the Family**

Draco's morning had not been a pleasant one. He had missed his breakfast, and he hadn't even got the chance to say goodbye to Blaise or talk to Ginny about what she should expect at his home. Now he was stuck in a car heading to the house the Weasleys had christened the "Burrow", and probably going to have the worst Christmas of his life.

"Isn't this year going to be wonderful?" Molly Weasley said enthusiastically. "All the family is coming – even Percy."

Draco scowled to himself. The more Weasleys coming, the worst it would be.

"We're going to have so much fun!" Mrs Weasley continued happily.

Draco said nothing. He didn't think that his life could get any worse knowing that he was going to be staying in a place that was named after a rodent's (or maybe a rabbit's) living space. Then again, they were weasels.

The rest of the car ride was not thrilling. The Weasleys were all very loud and were so different from his own parents that it was making things incredibly awkward for him. Ron's stupid comments weren't helping either, so it was with great relief that Draco felt the car slow down as it pulled into a long, dusty road. His expression changed, however, when he saw the house he was supposed to be staying in.

The Burrow was not exactly what Draco had expected. The house, if you could call it a house, looked like it was originally built to be one floor, but then people had used magic to add rooms and floors where necessary until it resembled more of a lopsided tower than a comfortable home. He couldn't believe that anyone lived here. No matter how much he may have taunted the Weasleys, he had never expected them to bethis poor.

"Well, we're home," Molly said cheerfully as she picked up the bags and walked off towards the teetering house.

Draco got out of the car with a scrunched-up expression on his face. He walked apprehensively up to the house and was immediately jumped upon by Fred and George, who cracked identical evil grins.

"Ginny, you're just in time for the fun!" George exclaimed.

"We left an early present for Percy," Fred whispered with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

Draco followed their gaze towards the pompous looking Percy, who was now opening a present with a smug smile fastened on his lips.

"We said it was from Fudge," the twins whispered in unison.

Percy shrieked rather girlishly as a gnome fell out of the parcel, and Draco paled as he watched the small potato-looking creature run on its stubby legs out of the house. These people were insane, _and_ they had gnomes in their garden.

Fred, George and Ron all started to laugh while Percy's face went beet-red. Draco watched with another scrunched-up expression as Percy started yelling furiously and then chased after Ron (who always seemed to get the blame for things).

"That was classic!" Fred cried, wiping tears away from his eyes while Percy continued to chase Ron around the house.

Draco stared at them blankly. He did not understand this family at all.

Molly took stock of the situation and placed her hands on her hips. "Boys, I want us all to get along this Christmas," she scolded in her best 'dragon' voice. "There will be no mischief here!"

The boys nodded and then dispersed off their separate ways, leaving Draco standing alone and feeling rather apprehensive. He had no idea where Ginny's room was, let alone what all these people's names were. He could see someone with long red hair and a fang earring talking to another man, who was unbelievably freckled and tan. He knew neither of them.

"Ginny, what are you doing just standing there?" the man with the long hair asked as he walked over and pulled Draco into a loose hug. "You should go put your stuff away."

Not wanting to give away his ignorance, Draco simply nodded and then walked up the stairs. He passed a few doors, unsure whether to enter. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw a yellow sign which bore the legend 'Ginny's room'.

"Thank goodness she's one of those girls," Draco muttered.

He pushed open the door and cast a critical eye about the room. It was bright, inviting and comfortable, though it was amazingly messy. She really needed to learn what 'putting away' meant.

Draco collapsed on the bed with a sigh. "Never did I think I would be in Ginny Weasley's room," he muttered, frowning at a picture of her and her family on the bedside table.

His frown deepened as he realised he would now have to spend Christmas with that family.

So much for happy holidays.

**OOOO**

Ginny stood nervously at Platform 9 and ¾, fidgeting with her hands as she stared at the families leaving for the Christmas holidays. Any minute now Mrs Malfoy was going to turn up.

"Don't be so nervous, Weasley," Blaise said softly, giving her a reassuring smile. "You'll be fine."

"But what if she realises I'm not her son?" Ginny cried anxiously. "I have no idea how Draco acts around his mother."

Blaise merely shrugged. "There's not much else you can do though, is there?"

"I guess."

Ginny suddenly gripped his hand as she saw a pretty blonde woman.

"It's her!" Ginny stage whispered, watching Narcissa Malfoy in all her regal glory coming towards them with an affectionate smile on her face.

"I know," Blaise said with a laugh, gently prising Ginny's hand off his. "And you had best go greet her."

Ginny wrung her hands nervously and suddenly felt herself being thrust forward. She swallowed hard and glanced up to catch Narcissa's beaming face before she was enfolded in a very flowery embrace.

"Darling, I have missed you so much," Narcissa exclaimed in a long-suffering voice as she clutched Ginny to her. "That horrible school always steals you away from me for so long."

Narcissa pulled back and gave Ginny a critical look. "You're looking rather thin, dear. Have they been feeding you right?"

"Yeah," Ginny answered, trying to look happy to see Draco's mother. "They're feeding me fine."

Ginny looked back at Blaise with a pleading expression on her face for him to save her as Narcissa continued to ask questions about the school. He just gave her an amused smile before finally coming forward.

"Mrs Malfoy," Blaise said with a charming smile, "you're looking as radiant as always."

Narcissa turned her attention to the dark-haired boy. "Blaise, how nice to see you. I suppose your mother will be picking you up?"

He nodded his head. Just in that moment a very striking woman walked towards them, her caramel skin revealed tastefully against her white sundress, and her glossy black hair framing the most exotic and beautiful face Ginny had ever seen. The woman gave Blaise a careless kiss on his cheek and then turned to smile at Narcissa and her 'son'. Ginny noticed the faint curl of Narcissa's lip. It was clear that she did not like this woman, who Ginny realised must be Mrs Zabini, the famously beautiful witch who had also gone through seven husbands.

"Narcissa," Mrs Zabini said with a slow and rather fake smile on her ruby lips. "How charming to see you again. How are you?"

"Selina," Narcissa replied, forcing one of her own fake smiles. "I'm fine, of course. Lucius always takes good care of me."

Selina smirked slightly. "No doubt."

She turned her dark eyes to Ginny, and a rather seductive smile curved her lips. "My, how you've grown, Draco. How old are you now?"

"He's sixteen. Younger than your son," Narcissa replied quickly, her falsely polite expression slipping with her sudden anger.

"I was just asking," Selina Zabini said with a smirk. "No need to get so defensive, dear. You might give yourself wrinkles with that frown."

Ginny felt Narcissa stiffen beside her and looked to Blaise for help. She had no idea what to do, and it was clear these two women were gearing up for a catfight.

"Mother, didn't you say that John was going to take us out when we got back?" Blaise asked quickly.

Selina gasped. "Oh, you're right. I completely forgot. Yes, he did. Thank you for reminding me, Blaise."

"Well, don't let us hold you up then," Narcissa said with false sweetness. She turned back to Ginny and took her arm in hers. "Come, Draco. I have lots of things planned for you when we get home."

Ginny suddenly found herself being steered away by Narcissa. She looked back at Blaise with a helpless expression, but he just waved and gave her a small smile before his mother also steered him off.

Narcissa stopped walking once they were away from Blaise and Selina. She let out a small sigh, her eyes setting into a frown. "Blaise is a sweet boy, but he does have a dreadful mother. I can't have people knowing I don't like her though, so I'll have to invite her over for lunch sometime. You'd like that wouldn't you, Draco? You can spend some time with Blaise."

"Uh ... yeah, sure."

Narcissa nodded decisively to herself, oblivious to Ginny's less than eloquent answers. "Yes, I suppose I shall have to do that, though it is a bother."

Ginny just grunted noncommittally and suddenly found herself locked in a tight grip. She looked at Draco's mother in confusion and caught a glimpse of the blonde's expression of deep concentration before the world closed around them and they Disapparated. She blinked as they reappeared outside a large mansion that she assumed must be Malfoy Manor. She was surprised to find that it was nothing at all like the dark, gothic mansion she had been imagining. It had beautiful rose gardens surrounding it, and the house itself was warm and inviting. Being Draco, however, she could not act impressed by any of this.

"Come on, darling," Narcissa said, releasing Ginny from her grip.

Ginny followed Narcissa across the lush grass towards the house while surreptitiously admiring the grounds. Narcissa opened the door to manor and called out for a house-elf named Mitsy as Ginny stepped inside behind the blonde. She had to try hard not to let her jaw drop at all elegant splendour that met her eyes. There was nothing tacky about the Malfoys' home. You could tell that they were rich, but it was not overbearing. The ornaments and portraits were tasteful, and the colours welcoming and soothing. Really, Ginny had to decide that this was the most beautiful home she had ever been in.

"Draco?"

Ginny turned and noticed Narcissa standing at an open door, looking at her with a perplexed expression on her face.

"Are you coming?" the blonde asked.

"Oh, yeah."

Ginny followed Narcissa into another tastefully decorated room that had light streaming in through its large windows. She took a seat at the table, her eyes widening slightly at all the food that suddenly appeared before her. Was she really expected eat this?

"It's all your favourites," Narcissa explained. "I know how hungry you are when you get home."

Ginny forced a smile and then stared back at the food. Some of it looked alright, but most of it looked ridiculously sweet. Obviously Draco Malfoy had a very bad sweet tooth.

She started sampling the different food, steadily feeling sicker with each bite. She was not used to such rich food, but with Narcissa right there, Ginny could see no way out of it.

Finally, after what seemed hours, but in fact was not very long at all, Ginny stood up.

"Um, Mother, I'm feeling kind of tired. Can I go to my room?"

"Well, of course you can, darling," Narcissa said with a laugh.

Ginny thanked the blonde and made her way out of the room, clutching her stomach that was now twisting and turning uncomfortably. The food had made her feel horribly ill. It was then that Ginny realised that she had no idea where Draco's room was.

She groaned and walked down the corridors, ignoring the paintings that were greeting her along the way. The mansion was large, and she soon found herself lost, much to her frustration.

"Now what?" Ginny muttered, stomach still turning unpleasantly.

She heard something scuffling around from behind a tapestry and pulled it back to see the same house-elf from earlier.

"Hey, elf," Ginny said quickly, seizing on an idea. "Take me to my room!"

Mitsy nodded her bald head. "As you wish, young master. Mitsy will take Master to Master's room.

Ginny inwardly congratulated herself on her brilliant thinking and followed the elf through the spiralling corridors, up a flight of stairs, down some more corridors, and then the little elf stopped outside a large wooden door.

"Will that be all, Master?"

"Yes that will be all," Ginny said, dismissing the elf with a nod.

She opened the door rather tentatively, feeling strangely intrusive at the thought of going into Draco's room. Even if she had been pretending to be him for nearly three weeks, she didn't like to invade _all_ of his personal space, but what choice did she have?

Shrugging off her scruples, she pushed open the door and walked inside. There was no doubt that this was Draco Malfoy's room. There was not a single object out of place, and it was almost unnaturally clean and tidy.

Ginny looked up at the green walls and saw a few posters of Quidditch teams and some rather questionable witches in little clothing. She noted, much to her amusement, that the posters had been placed up with expert precision and were not in the slightest bit crooked or out of place.

She wandered a bit around the room, examining a few odds and ends, and then collapsed on the ridiculously large bed.

"I can't believe I'm at Draco Malfoy's home and lying on his bed," she muttered.

This was certainly one hell of a year.

OOOO

"DINNER!"

Draco jumped off the bed in fright, surprised by the shriek that had almost blasted his ears. He heard something clunking around in the roof and, very faintly, someone muttering about ghouls.

He sighed and left the room, trudging down the staircase with his mind still caught up in his own thoughts. He suddenly stumbled back as he collided with something. He looked up and his jaw dropped as he saw Harry Potter staring at him.

"Harry, what are you waiting for?" Hermione called, breaking the awkward silence that had settled over the two boys (not that Harry knew Draco was really a boy).

"Nothing," Harry said quickly, and brushed past Draco as he moved up the stairs.

"What are you two doing here?" Draco asked Hermione, now that Harry had left.

Hermione shifted her bag in her hands and gave him a small smile. "Harry always has Christmas here, and I thought I'd better give you a hand so I made sure to excuse myself from my parents."

An unflattering expression of confusion settled on Draco's face. "You did that for me?"

He had never given a reason for Hermione to be nice to him, but here she was actually missing Christmas with her family just so she could help him out.

Hermione smiled more broadly as she tucked her bushy hair behind her ears. "Think of it as a Christmas truce, Malfoy. Now, if you don't mind, I have to go take these up to Ginny's room."

"You'll be sharing a room with me?" he asked, suddenly awkward.

"Yes, but as you've been sharing a room with girls for the past three weeks, I'm sure that won't be a problem," she responded, raising her eyebrow.

Draco made a noncommittal sound and nodded his head. "Yeah, sure."

Hermione flashed him a smile again as she clutched her bag more securely and moved past him to go to Ginny's room. He sighed and continued his trek down the stairs, wondering what his first dinner with the Weasleys was going to be like. For the first time in his life, he was glad that Hermione Granger was going to be there with him.

Draco walked into what he guessed was the dining room and saw the same long-haired man from earlier wave at him. He couldn't remember the guy's name, so he paused as he wondered what to do.

"Over here, Ginny," the man called, beckoning for Draco to take a seat next to him at the large table.

Draco sighed and took a seat next to the older boy. Mrs Weasley was bustling from the kitchen to the dining room, bringing plates of delicious smelling food to put on the table. Draco vaguely wondered if it would actually taste as nice as it smelt when he found his thoughts being broken by the man next to him.

"You look troubled, Ginny. What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," Draco said airily. "Just hungry."

The man smiled appreciatively and gave him a wink. "I'm sure Mum will soon sort that out."

"Yeah."

"BOYS, COME AND GET YOUR DINNERS BEFORE IT GETS COLD!"

Draco clutched his ears as Molly Weasley screeched at the top of her lungs. He spotted Hermione's amused expression as she took a seat next to him.

"You get used to it," Hermione whispered.

Draco stared at Mrs Weasley with a horrified expression on his face. The woman was clearly a banshee.

The sound of many feet came stomping down the stairs, and soon the table was filled to the brim with redheads. The only two who did not have the trademark red hair were Hermione and Harry.

"Let's eat!" Arthur Weasley said loudly, and Draco watched in horror as everyone started stuffing their faces with food.

"How's the Ministry going, Perce?" a tanned redhead was saying to the very nerdy and pompous looking Percy.

Draco frowned and turned to Hermione. "Who's that man?"

Hermione followed his gaze. "That's Charlie. He works in Romania with dragons, and the one next to you is Bill. He's a curse breaker for Gringotts."

"Oh."

Draco was relieved that he at least knew their names now and felt just a little more comfortable. Then he noticed Ron talking with his mouth full of food, spraying bits of carrot in his enthusiasm.

_These people have no manners,_ Draco thought, scrunching up his face.

Somehow, he just knew that this was going to be a very long evening.

OOOO

Ginny frowned as she heard a bell ringing. What in Merlin's name could the stupid bell mean?

She stood off the bed and opened the door.

"Why is the bell ringing?" she asked the elf, who just happened to be walking past.

Mitsy jumped at being addressed and immediately clutched at its raggedy clothes. "It's dinner time, Master Draco. Mistress always rings the bell to let you know."

"Right. I knew that."

She twisted her lips in thought as she realised that she had no idea where the Malfoys had dinner.

"Um, I want you to take me to her, okay?"

"Mitsy will take Master Draco to Mistress," Mitsy said promptly, and led Ginny off down the hallways to where the dining hall was.

Ginny turned to face the elf, but Mitsy had already scampered off before she could thank her, or him – she still wasn't sure what it was.

"Darling," Narcissa began, then she paused. "You didn't change?"

Ginny frowned, wondering what Narcissa was talking about, when she realised that the woman was wearing a different dress to what she had been wearing earlier. Obviously the Malfoys followed the rule of getting dressed up for dinner.

"Oh, I forgot," Ginny said with a shrug.

"Don't shrug, Draco," a cool voice said from the head of the table. "It doesn't become you."

Ginny swivelled around to see Lucius Malfoy watching her through cool grey eyes.

"Luci— I mean, Father," Ginny corrected.

She really didn't like this man. He was the one who had given her the diary all of those years ago, but she was in Draco's body and had to act like she loved his parents.

Lucius stared at her for a moment before beckoning her towards him. "Come here, Draco, and stop gawking like an idiot."

Ginny walked over and stood before him. He gestured for her to take a seat. Ginny quickly sat down. She could feel sweat gathering on her forehead. This was surely going to kill her.

Narcissa, completely oblivious to Ginny's nervousness, gave a tinkling laugh. "My poor little Dragon. I'm sure he's just tired from his school year, aren't you, darling?"

Ginny nodded, feeling somewhat grateful for Narcissa, even if the woman's affections made her uncomfortable.

Lucius frowned and snapped his fingers. Mitsy appeared, bowing so ridiculously low that its nose brushed the floor.

"Serve us our dinner, Mitsy, and be quick about it."

"Yes, Master, of course, Master," Mitsy said in a grovelling voice.

A few seconds later and the food had appeared. Ginny, who had been feeling ravenously hungry, was all ready to dig into the food with all her usual enthusiasm and stabbed a large piece of meat on her fork, when she noticed Narcissa staring at her with a shocked expression on her face.

"Draco, you aren't going to eat your meat like that, are you? You need to cut it first."

Ginny stared at the meat dangling off her fork. A blush spread across her cheeks. "Sorry, Mother," she apologised, and immediately started cutting the meat.

She caught Lucius's raised eyebrow and inwardly sighed. This family was so stiff. She couldn't even enjoy her food properly.

"I told you that we shouldn't have sent him to that school," Narcissa was saying in a low under-voice. "They're teaching him bad manners."

"Oh, hush, Narcissa," Lucius admonished gently. "What was good enough for us is good enough for him. You were the one who refused to send him to Durmstrang, after all."

"I was not going to let my baby boy be any further from me than what he already is," Narcissa responded, looking rather steely for such a seemingly fickle woman. "Besides, that horrible headmaster has a bad reputation. I don't want Draco with people like that."

Ginny coughed, knowing that Karkaroff had been accused of being a Death Eater. She was surprised to see that Lucius got a rather pink tinge on his cheeks.

"My dear, you know that he was harmless."

"Yes, well he's also on the run from the Dark Lord, isn't he?" Narcissa snapped, losing some of her flowery tones. "At least you have the sense not to get us caught up in those affairs, and it had better stay that way, Lucius. I already told you that I don't want Draco being caught up with those meddling fools. If they want to change the world and get rid of the Mudbloods, fine, but they can leave my son out of it."

"They're not fools, and you'd best start showing a little more respect for them, Narcissa," Lucius said coldly.

Ginny stared at Draco's parents, looking much like someone at a tennis match as her head swivelled from one to the next.

"I don't care about your silly Dark Lord or your Death Eaters," Narcissa rejoined in an equally chilly voice, "and Draco doesn't either, do you, Draco?"

Ginny blinked as both of their eyes turned to her. Lucius looked at her with a rather surprised yet angry glare, while Narcissa stared at her expectantly, obviously expecting Ginny to agree with her.

_Damn, now what do I do? _

"I, um, feel sick," Ginny lied, and hurriedly left the table with as much dignity as she could muster.

She threw herself on Draco's bed once she got back to his room, her heart beating uncomfortably as it fully hit her that she was in the home of a Death Eater.

All of this time that she had been pretending to be Draco, spending time with his friends and being in his house, it had never really occurred to her that they were associated with her enemies. She had befriended the sons and daughters of Death Eaters, and now she was in Lucius Malfoy's home.

It was only then that Ginny realised how truly dangerous her situation was.


	10. It's a Little Complicated

**It's a Little Complicated**

Two days had passed since Ginny's first dinner at Malfoy Manor. During those days, she had spent most of her time in Draco's room, trying hard to avoid Lucius and Narcissa as much as possible. Thankfully, Lucius had to go to work for most of the day, and Narcissa was quite content to flitter around doing whatever it was that she did. Really, Ginny didn't end up seeing that much of Draco's parents at all, though Narcissa did like to pop her head in from time to time to make sure that Ginny was doing okay.

Ginny dreaded the thought of having to listen to more talk about Death Eaters. It was frightening enough being in the same house as one, but it almost seemed that the Malfoys didn't like to talk about it. It was clear that Narcissa was firmly against the idea, while Draco seemed to have remained on the fence for this family dispute.

It was amazing how different their families actually were. In her family the arguments were about who had to do the dishes or de-gnome the garden; in the Malfoys' home, the arguments were about whether Draco should become a Death Eater or not and murder innocent people…

Ginny sighed as she lay on the absent blond's bed, wondering how he felt about all of this. Before she had switched bodies with him, she had always just viewed him as some stuck-up snob that was as evil as he was annoying. But now she knew him better and understood that he wasn't all _that_ bad. Even still, it seemed like his father wanted him to be a Death Eater. She hoped that he wouldn't take up the offer. She couldn't bear the thought of having a real reason to hate him.

The door opened and Ginny looked up in surprise to see Mitsy walk into the room.

"Master Draco has guests. Mistress wishes you to come to the parlour," the elf said squeakily.

"Alright."

Ginny stood up off the bed and left the room, idly wondering who it was that had come to see the Malfoys. No one had come to visit them as of yet, so she had thankfully not been forced to spend time with pompous Purebloods who thought they were better than everyone else. Today, however, it seemed that she was not so fortunate.

She was just heading towards the corridor where the parlour was situated when she spotted a familiar caramel-skinned woman coming towards her. Selina Zabini was looking as beautiful as always, her voluptuous body clad in a tasteful yellow dress, with her silky black hair falling freely around her waist. Her amber eyes, which Ginny noted were much like her son's, watched Ginny with a sly expression, and there was an equally sly smile on her lips.

"Mrs Zabini," Ginny said nervously.

The woman looked like she was about to eat her, and did Selina just lick her lips?

"Draco," Selina purred, stepping very closely to Ginny so that there was barely an inch between them. "I was hoping I would run into you."

Ginny took a step back and stared at the woman, perplexed. Was Blaise's mother coming on to her?

Selina took another step forward just as Ginny took another step back. Ginny suddenly found her back pressed against the wall, and her eyes darted to Mrs Zabini's face in some nervousness. Blaise's mother was hitting on her. This was not a situation she had been prepared for.

Mrs Zabini smiled seductively up at her as she trailed a finger slowly down Ginny's chest. "You've grown so much taller since I last saw you." Her smile widened, and she leaned in closer, whispering into Ginny's ear: "I can't help but wonder where else you've grown."

Ginny's cheeks flooded with pink as she caught the insinuation. She felt Selina's fingers trail lower, brushing against the waistband of her pants, and a bubble of panic welled up inside her. She darted out of Selina's clutches, moving well away from the wall so that she could put more distance between them. Selina blinked in surprise, obviously confused as to why she was being pushed away. Ginny knew that it had probably never happened before.

"Something wrong, Draco?" Selina asked, raising one thin eyebrow.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ginny demanded, folding her arms defensively to stop any more of the woman's advances.

Selina smoothed back her hair with one careless hand. "Perhaps it was too soon," she mused more to herself. "You are still so young."

Ginny glared at her. She knew very well what Selina was implying, and she didn't like it one bit. Perhaps if she really were a sixteen-year-old boy, the deliciously exotic woman might have tempted her, but, as it was, she was a fifteen-year-old girl trapped in a boy's body, and she had no desire to have sex with her friend's mother.

"Mother."

Ginny turned to see Blaise watching them through suspicious eyes.

"Blaise, darling," Selina said with unruffled calm. "What brings you out here?"

"Mrs Malfoy thought you might have got lost. She wanted me to bring you back to the parlour."

Ginny had to bite back a smile as she realised that Narcissa Malfoy simply didn't trust Selina with her son and must have guessed correctly that Ginny was being held up by the older woman.

"Well, as you can see I am not lost," Selina responded. "I just happened to run into your dear friend."

Blaise shifted his eyes to Ginny, who just shrugged as if to say 'yeah, it's true'. He nodded his head, but a frown still lingered on his lips as he walked back to the parlour. He held the door open for his mother (who winked at Ginny as she walked past) and then gave an almost apologetic look to Ginny before he entered the room himself. Ginny sighed, thinking that this was going to be very awkward, and followed him into the room.

"There you are," Narcissa exclaimed upon seeing her 'son'. "I did wonder what was taking you so long." She gave a nasty look at Selina Zabini then and then turned back to Ginny. "There's some refreshments on the table if you're hungry."

Ginny smiled and nodded, as was customary, and then took a seat next to Blaise while the two women started talking to each other. Narcissa sipped her tea with a placid expression on her face as she listened to Selina, though Ginny knew that it was just an act. She would never understand how society woman put up with people they hated for reputation's sake. It was clear that both women despised each other.

Blaise sighed. "This is going to be extremely awkward," he whispered. "We should try and get out of here while we can."

She nodded to show that she understood and waited for an opening to ask if they could leave. Selina was currently describing a new dress that her latest toy-boy John had bought her, which she was planning to wear to the next society function. Narcissa smiled sweetly and exclaimed how beautiful Selina would surely look in it. Their eyes were the only sign that neither of them was really enjoying this discussion.

Ginny gave a small cough in an attempt to draw attention to herself. She was not sure how much longer she could handle the tension anyway.

"Is there something wrong?" Narcissa asked, frowning slightly.

Ginny knew that she had broken social decorum by interrupting, or whatever it was those pompous purebloods called their weird idea of manners, but she desperately wanted to get out of the room. Judging by Blaise's edginess, he felt exactly the same.

"Well," she began awkwardly, "you two seem to have plenty to say to each other, and, uh, Blaise and I want to catch up. So . . . can we leave?"

Narcissa lifted an eyebrow at Ginny's less than eloquent speech, but she nodded her head all the same. "Of course, darling."

"Have fun," Selina said with a wink.

Blaise and Ginny wasted no time in making their escape. As soon as they were out of ear-shot, Ginny let out a deep breath and glanced at Blaise with a tired expression on her face.

"I don't know how you and Draco put up with this. High society is _awful_!"

"You'll get used to it," Blaise chuckled. "You've got another week and a half left here after all."

"Yeah, and I'm counting down the days," Ginny mumbled unhappily, suddenly remembering why it was so horrible living here.

She wondered if Blaise had any advice on what to do about her situation with Lucius. She trusted him more than anyone else out of Draco's friends.

"Blaise," she began hesitantly, fidgeting with her hands.

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared," she admitted in a small voice, voicing her fears for the first time.

"Why?" he asked, stopping in surprise and staring at her with a perplexed expression on his face.

She stared at her feet, wondering how best to phrase this. "Well, the first day I had dinner with the Malfoys, somehow the topic got onto Death Eaters…"

Blaise paled. "What happened, Ginny?"

She looked up, meeting his amber eyes and seeing his concern. The use of her first name was proof of how serious he was taking this, but his eyes would have told her enough.

"Nothing bad happened," she explained quickly. "Lucius and Narcissa just had a bit of an argument about whether Draco should be a Death Eater or not. But that's not what I'm scared, even though it does worry me . . . ."

"So what's wrong, then?" Blaise asked, prodding her to get it off her chest now.

"I'm living in the home of a Death Eater. If he knew who I was, what do you think he would do?"

"Probably use you for some stupid plan – or kill you," he added, considering the matter a bit more.

Ginny stared at him in horror. She had always thought that Blaise had more tact than that, but obviously he didn't realise how upset this was making her. Her thoughts must have showed on her face, for he pulled her by the hand towards Draco's door, obviously wanting to be somewhere more private before they discussed matters further.

"You never know when house-elves might be listening," he explained, shutting the door behind them. He released her hand and looked at her with a much gentler expression on his face. "I can understand why you're scared, Ginny, but thinking about it will only make it worse. Draco's dad may be a Death Eater, but he also loves his son. He won't do anything while you're in his body."

"I can't do it, Blaise. I'm on edge the whole time. I can't even think when I'm around Lucius, and you know I was never a very good actor!"

"Ginny," Blaise said in a low voice as he gripped her shoulders. "You'll be fine, okay? Draco would never let you get hurt, and don't forget that Narcissa Malfoy is firmly against the idea."

"But she hates Weasleys! The Malfoys have always hated the Weasleys, and I just happen to be one!" Ginny retorted, her voice getting louder as her nerves took control.

"Shhh," Blaise said quickly, clamping a hand over her mouth before she could work herself up anymore. "Do you want to alert the whole house to your identity?"

Ginny shook her head. They were very close now, and for some reason her heart started to beat faster and her breathing quickened as she looked up into his eyes.

"Alright, I'm going to take my hand away, and you're going to keep your voice down, right?" he warned, giving her a sharp look.

Ginny nodded. He pulled his hand away from her mouth, and she let out a deep breath. What had just happened? Her body had gone crazy simply because he had touched her.

"Now then," Blaise continued, seemingly oblivious to Ginny's confused thoughts. "I may be Draco's best friend, but Lucius doesn't like me anymore than Draco's mother likes mine, so seeing whether you can stay with me is out of the option. You'll just have to hold out for the next week and a bit before you go back to Hogwarts." He smiled reassuringly. "You've been pretending to be Draco for nearly three weeks, Ginny. You've managed to fool his teachers and his friends; I'm sure you can fool his parents too. Just don't let your fears get to you."

Ginny nodded her head, knowing that he was right. She had to put the thought of Lucius being a Death Eater behind her and do what she needed to do. It was just so hard when she knew what would happen if she slipped up.

"Thanks, Blaise," she said softly, giving him the smallest of smiles. "I'm glad I have you here with me to help me deal with this."

He returned the smile, and his eyes lit up with a warm glow that she had never seen before.

"You're welcome."

The seconds passed, yet neither of them moved. For Ginny, it was almost like she couldn't. She was trapped by the power of his eyes – eyes that right now were staring intently into her own. He took a step closer, and she let out a shaky breath as he placed his hands on either side of her face. Her heart was drumming against her ribs, her senses heightened so that she could smell the faint musky scent of his cologne, as well as hear his soft breathing. She lowered her eyes to his lips, which were dangerously close, and then those lips were pressing against hers, slow at first, until he increased the pressure as he curled a hand curling around her neck, pulling her closer to him as he deepened the kiss.

A soft noise escaped Ginny's lips as she responded to the kiss. Their chests pressed up against each other, making her foggy brain wonder how odd it was to kiss a boy in a boy's body. There was no softness of touch between them – just two masculine bodies clashing together in all their angles and sharpness.

Blaise steered her back against the bed, and both of them collapsed on top of it in a heap of tangled limbs. It almost felt wrong to be kissing Blaise in Draco's body, but her brain was going pleasantly mushy from the effect of his kiss, and she found herself not really caring enough to stop the handsome boy.

Just when things were beginning to really heat up, the door opened and a screech filled the room, followed by a gasp. Ginny quickly scrambled away from Blaise and found herself falling backwards, landing hard on the floor.

"MY SON IS GAY!" Narcissa Malfoy exclaimed dramatically.

Ginny looked up from the floor, wincing slightly, and met Narcissa's horrified gaze. She knew then that kissing Blaise had been a horrible mistake.

"It's not what it looks like," Blaise said quickly, his cheeks pink.

Before he could say anything more, however, a new interruption took place in the form of his own mother.

"Well, no wonder you pushed me away, Draco," Selina Zabini observed in amusement. "Mind you, this is an interesting development. Just think of all the kinky possibilities."

"ENOUGH!" Narcissa screeched. "You will not be going anywhere near my son, and neither will that – that boy!" she cried, turning to look at Blaise with a disturbed expression on her face.

"Mother, please," Ginny began, but Narcissa silenced her with a glare.

"Perhaps we should go, Blaise," Selina said with a lazy smile, clearly enjoying the whole situation. "Narcissa looks like she's about to have an apoplectic fit."

"Get out!" Narcissa yelled, losing her usual composure.

"I'll talk to Draco," Blaise mouthed.

Ginny nodded, if a little reluctantly. Of course Draco would have to know that his mother now thought he was gay. It was just worrying to think of how would react to the news.

"Come on, Mother," Blaise said tiredly, steering Selina away from Narcissa and out of the room.

Narcissa shut the door behind them with one elegant hand. Ginny swallowed as she looked at the coldly beautiful woman before her. The blonde had regained her composure now that the Zabinis were gone, but her coolness only made her more frightening in Ginny's eyes.

"Would you care to explain to me why you were kissing Blaise Zabini?" Narcissa asked calmly.

"I—"

Ginny frowned. How was she supposed to explain this? She couldn't very well tell the truth, but then what was she supposed to say?

"Yes?" Narcissa prompted.

"Um, well, you see . . . we, uh, were just experimenting."

"Experimenting?" Narcissa repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," Ginny said slowly, trying to formulate a plausible lie.

She had heard of other students kissing those of the same sex at Hogwarts in the name of 'experimenting', so she didn't see why this should be any different. It was just unfortunate that she was dealing with the Malfoys who took reputation seriously, and clearly had a thing against homosexuals."

"So you're not gay? You were just experimenting?" Narcissa asked hopefully.

"No, Mother, I am not gay," Ginny deadpanned in what she hoped was a voice that would stop anymore of Narcissa's questions. The blonde, much to Ginny's relief, seemed to take the hint and simply nodded her head.

"I'm glad to hear it. Do you have any idea how upset it would make your father to know that he would never have grandchildren because you decided to get it into your head that you liked men? Merlin forbid that the Malfoy line dies out because the only heir is homosexual!"

"You don't need to worry Mother," Ginny replied, trying to keep a straight face. "I don't like boys."

Narcissa looked at her suspiciously for a moment. In a way, Ginny could understand the woman's doubt. She and Blaise had certainly not been holding back when they were kissing, and it was obvious that they had both been enjoying themselves.

"Well, please don't try anymore experimenting, Draco," Narcissa said stiffly. "It's not becoming."

"Yes, Mother."

Ginny breathed out a sigh of relief once Narcissa had left. That had been horribly awkward, but she knew that facing Draco was going to be so much worse . . . .


	11. Coming Clean

**Coming Clean**

Draco squinted as the sun attacked his sleepy eyelids, forcing them open. He blinked once, twice, and then sat up only to fall back again with a yelp as he saw Hermione staring straight at him, her face very close.

"What the hell were you doing?" he demanded, clutching the blankets to his chin, even though he was in Ginny's body.

Hermione laughed and stood up straight, stretching slightly so that her pyjama top rode up to show an expanse of bare flesh on her stomach. Draco swallowed as he glanced at the smooth skin before quickly pulling his eyes away to look back at her face. How he hated being in this situation; especially with her.

"I was about to wake you up."

Draco frowned. "You couldn't have just called out to me?"

"You didn't wake up when I did that," Hermione replied somewhat tartly.

"Well, I'm awake now, as you can see."

He pushed the covers off his body and stepped onto the floor, then moved to Ginny's drawers. Hermione took a seat on the now unoccupied bed and watched him as he opened the drawers and started pulling out clothes. Draco grew increasingly annoyed as he felt her eyes following his every movement.

"Is there something you wanted to ask me?" he asked, turning back to look at her.

"Not particularly," Hermione said with a shrug, though Draco could tell there was something on her mind.

"Well, do you mind?" he responded. "I want to get dressed."

Hermione gave an inelegant snort. "Okay, I get the point. I'll leave you to it."

"Good," Draco said rudely.

He watched her leave, then, heaving out a sigh, tossed the clothes in his hand on the bed and started pulling off his pyjamas so that he could get dressed. He was just about to put on the ever-annoying bra when there was a loud tap at the window. Draco quite literally jumped in fright and turned to see what had caused the noise. He stopped dead when he saw a familiar owl.

"Is that Blaise's owl?" he mumbled, opening the window to let the owl in.

The owl deposited a letter into his hands and, ruffling its feathers importantly, took off back out the window. Draco unfolded the letter and read:

_Draco,_

_Meet me in the wood near the Weasleys' house at noon. We have to talk._

_Blaise_

Draco's eyes narrowed slightly as he wondered what had happened to make Blaise demand a meeting with him. The door suddenly opened and, for the third time that day, Draco nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned wildly at the noise, conscious of the fact that he was only wearing yellow knickers, but then his stunned expression changed to exasperation as he found himself once more staring at Hermione.

"Merlin, Granger, don't you ever knock?"

Hermione gave a haughty sniff. "You take forever to get dressed, and you should really try to be more considerate of Ginny's feelings here and not prance around practically naked while in her body."

"Well I have to get dressed somehow, don't I?" Draco retorted defensively, "Not to mention have showers, and do everything else which involves removing clothes from her body."

His cheeks were rather pink by the end of this speech, and he didn't like the look Hermione was giving him, either. It was almost as if she was accusing him of purposely trying to perve on Ginny's body, which was not the case at all. Okay, maybe the first day it had been the case, but he really didn't have much choice in the matter once it had turned out that he and Ginny were going to be stuck in each other's bodies. Besides, Ginny would also have seen him naked plenty of times while in his body. It was something they both wisely did not mention when they saw each other.

"You could at least try to cover up," Hermione said with an exasperated sigh, as Draco was still just standing there and not doing anything to hide his lack of clothing.

"Well, forgive me for being a little surprised to have you barge back in here uninvited," he snapped.

He chucked the letter on the bed and resumed getting dressed, not bothering to tell her to go away this time. There really was no point. She'd probably think he was just trying to cop a sneaky feel of Ginny's body if he did, which would only lead to more problems . . . .

"Who was that from?" Hermione asked, watching him as he pulled on a pair of faded blue jeans.

"Blaise," he answered shortly, knowing she was meaning the letter.

"What for? Did something happen to Ginny?" Hermione asked anxiously.

Draco shrugged and pulled a black jumper over his head. "I don't know. Blaise didn't say anything other than that we needed to talk and that I should meet him at noon in the wood near here."

He was still feeling worried as to why Blaise had sent him a letter. They had agreed not to do it in case people got suspicious, so obviously whatever Blaise wanted to talk to him about was important.

"Do you want me to come?" Hermione asked.

Draco looked at her appraisingly for a moment. "He didn't say to invite you, so no."

"Alright."

Draco said nothing, though he could tell that she wanted to come; she just wouldn't push matters with him since, thankfully, he was not one of her idiotic friends.

He grabbed Ginny's hairbrush and started brush the long red hair he now sported, completely ignoring Hermione as he fell into his own thoughts. Something was making him feel uncomfortable, and it was all because of that stupid letter.

**OOOO**

The morning was spent in what Draco soon discovered was normal for a day at the Weasleys. He was practically force-fed breakfast by Mrs Weasley until he was sick, and then they all trundled outside to have a game of Quidditch. Hermione took great amusement in making him play on Ron's team while she played with Harry. By the time the sun was signalling noon, Draco's nerves were so stretched from being in such close proximity with everyone that he couldn't wait to get away from the Burrow and meet Blaise.

'_At least he has sense and isn't irritating like those twits,_' Draco thought grumpily.

Hermione was the only one he could tolerate, but even then he still found her annoying. He did appreciate her efforts to help him have a smoother time in Ginny's body, but he just couldn't get over the fact that she was still a know-it-all Mudblood.

Draco was still grumbling to himself as he entered the small wood near the Weasley's house. He followed the path to where he saw Blaise leaning against a tree. He couldn't help but notice that his friend looked rather agitated.

"Good, you came," Blaise said in relief.

"What's this about, Blaise?" Draco demanded by way of greeting. "I thought we agreed that it would be better if we didn't meet or write letters."

Blaise sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I kissed Ginny."

At first Draco thought that he hadn't heard him right. There was no way that Blaise Zabini, _his _best friend, had kissed Ginny Weasley – a girl who was so ridiculous and so irritating, and, well, she was in his damn body for Merlin's sake!

"YOU WHAT?"

Blaise cringed. "Look, I know this seems weird, but—"

"_Weird_?" Draco repeated with a snarl. "You kissed Ginny Weasley, who, I might remind you, is currently occupying _my_ body! I'd say that's more insane than weird!"

Blaise had the grace to blush. "I didn't mean to. It just sort of happened."

"Sort of happened?" Draco echoed, looking furious. "No, Blaise, having a door opened on your face just sort of happens; kissing the girl that is in my body does not! You knew what you were doing, and don't try to pretend otherwise."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't want to hear your bloody sorries!" Draco yelled, his anger now uncontrollable.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Blaise retorted. "I can't help the way I feel about her. Damn it, Draco, maybe you're right that it was a mistake to kiss her while she was in your body, but I couldn't damn well help myself, alright? I like her!"

"You like her?"

Draco felt strangely disturbed by the idea, though he couldn't imagine why. It was just Ginny, after all. Then again, maybe it was because she was in his body. Yes, that must be it.

"Yes, I like her," Blaise croaked, looking suddenly very tired and defeated. "You don't know her like I do. She's amazing, talented, funny, cute—"

"Looks like me," Draco interrupted with a scowl. "What the hell is wrong with you? How could you kiss someone who looks like me, let alone like them?"

Blaise sighed and ran another agitated hand through his hair. "I-I don't know. You're not around her as much as I am. I just can't help it. No matter how much I try to ignore my feelings for her, they just won't go away. I can't stop thinking about her, even if she is in your body."

"But she's a Weasley!" Draco rejoined.

He felt like he was grasping at straws, and it shouldn't feel that way. He wasn't even sure why he was so intent on making Blaise not like Ginny, but what he did know was that he would have no more snogging between them while she was still in his body.

"And I forbid you to kiss her again while she is in my body," Draco said firmly. "Do you have any idea how much this is grossing me out right now?"

Blaise nodded. "Yeah. It was kind of weird kissing her."

"I bet," Draco said with a snort. "Straight guys don't kiss other guys, even if the guy is a girl deep down."

And he still couldn't believe that Blaise had done it. Even if he and Ginny had agreed to become friends, and even if he did _kind_ _of_ enjoy being around her, that didn't change the fact that she was still Ginny Weasley and also happened to look like him.

"You don't need to rub it in," Blaise muttered.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "You defiled my body with your lips. I can say and do whatever I like to you now."

A reluctant smile came to Blaise's face, but then he went serious again. "Look, Draco, I really am sorry. It won't happen again."

"I should hope not," Draco said with disgust. "The last thing I want is to go back to a body that has had you touching and kissing all over it."

It truly was off-putting to know that Blaise had kissed a person that looked like him. He knew his friend wasn't gay, but still . . .

"You don't have to worry," Blaise responded. "I won't be doing it anytime soon, and I don't think she will want to either."

Draco narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "There's something you're not telling me."

Blaise shifted uncomfortably and mumbled something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Draco demanded, looking suddenly fierce, even if he was in Ginny's petite body.

"I said your parents think you're gay."

Draco went to cut in with another shout of fury, but Blaise just ploughed on ahead.

"Narcissa caught us kissing on your bed."

"YOU WERE KISSING ON MY BED?" Draco shouted.

A horrible jolt travelled through his body. Blaise had said 'kissing,' which meant that Blaise had not simply just kissed Ginny; it meant that Blaise _and_ Ginny had been kissing, and it wasn't just a cute peck on the lips either . . .

"I'm sorry, Draco—"

"Oh, just shut up!" Draco snapped, turning from Blaise in exasperation.

This was just perfect. His parents thought he was gay with his best friend. Said best friend had been making out with a girl who was trapped in his body, and, to top it all off, they were making out on _his _bed.

Blaise stared at his friend helplessly for a moment, then sighed. "I'll just go then," he muttered, and Disapparated with a small pop.

Draco glared at the empty space where Blaise had stood. Suddenly, he let out a furious yell and kicked at a tree stump. Pain shot through his foot and up his leg. He cursed loudly while hobbling around in circles as he clutched his foot, which was now stinging terribly.

Still grumbling to himself, he hobbled back towards the Burrow with a less than pleased expression on his face. He wanted to kill Blaise, but, more than that, he wanted to go and yell at that twit of a girl who had let Blaise kiss her in the first place.

He was halfway towards the house when he decided that he would do just that. Draco brought out his wand, then, turning on the spot, Disapparated with a loud crack.

**OOOO**

Meanwhile, at Malfoy Manor, Ginny was currently fretting over what to do about Blaise. He had kissed her, and she had kissed him back, but now she was feeling very confused. She had never thought about Blaise as anything more than a friend. He was just Blaise, but after having him kiss her, and remembering the way that Draco's body had reacted to the kiss (she had got a little too 'excited'), she was unsure what to think now. There was also the problem of Hermione liking Blaise.

"Why did you have to go and complicate things, Blaise?" Ginny asked the empty room.

She sighed and flopped back against the bed, staring at the roof. This was so horribly confusing, but what could she do? Hermione was her friend; she couldn't just go and like Blaise now, even if Blaise didn't like Hermione back. Besides, Ginny didn't even know if she liked Blaise. It was just a kiss, albeit a very heated one, but, still, one kiss couldn't change _that_ much. And sure Blaise was good-looking and all, but he was also Draco's best friend.

She swallowed uncomfortably as she thought of Draco, knowing that eventually she would have to face him. What was she supposed to say? How could she even explain what she had done? And why did she care so much what he thought anyway?

Just in that moment a loud crack resounded around the room. Ginny jumped in fright and looked up from the bed to see Draco himself glaring furiously at her. She gulped and sat up straighter, watching him apprehensively. He _knew_.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," Draco said in a low voice that trembled with barely suppressed rage.

"Blaise told you then?" Ginny asked, hoping that maybe he was angry with her for something else.

"Oh, yes, he told me all about how the both of you kissed in this very room, on that very bed, and how, because of that, my parents now think I'm gay."

Ginny shifted uncomfortably. When he put it like that, it did sound rather bad.

"Care to explain what brain tumour stopped your brain from functioning and realising that your stupid hormones might actually effect me too?" Draco demanded with a scowl.

"I never asked him to kiss me!" Ginny retorted, standing up so that she could look down at him. It made her feel better somehow, but Draco's anger was so intense that even her new height didn't allow her any more control over the situation.

"But you still kissed him back," Draco said rather nastily. "It takes two to tango, Weasley."

Ginny glared at him. How dare he use that tone of voice with her? She may be in his body, and she may have kissed his friend, but that didn't mean he got to treat her like dirt!

"What's it to you if I kissed him back?" she snapped.

"Because you're in my body!" Draco yelled back heatedly. "And because you're not supposed to like him!"

Ginny frowned. Okay, she could understand the body part, but why wasn't she allowed to like Blaise? Was she banned because he was Draco's friend?

"I can like him if I want," she retorted, "and don't think you can stop me either!"

"A-ha, so you _do_ like him!" Draco declared triumphantly, but he looked a little put-off by the knowledge too.

"I never said that," Ginny said quickly, feeling a sudden urge to make it known that she didn't like Blaise, or at least she wasn't sure if she did or not. "I just— Urgh, why do you care so much, anyway?"

"What? I don't," Draco said, looking rather defensive.

"Whatever," Ginny said tiredly, too annoyed now to think about his odd behaviour. "If you've come here to yell at me, you can just bugger off. And don't you think it was a bit dangerous to come here? Your dad is a Death Eater, you know. I don't think he'd really appreciate seeing Ginny Weasley in his house."

Draco looked like he had been winded at the mention of his father being a Death Eater. "He's not home now, is he?"

Ginny shook her head. "I doubt it. It's probably just your mum here."

"Good," Draco said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, well, if she catches you she'll probably have something to say about it as well, so you might as well go before you get us both in trouble."

He glared at her for a moment, then Disapparated with a loud crack. Ginny sighed and flopped back against the bed. That had been rather annoying, and now she was even more confused, and she knew it had nothing to do with Blaise's kiss and everything to do with Draco's odd reaction to it.


	12. The Icing On The Cake

**The Icing on the Cake**

Draco Apparated back into Ginny's room and immediately collapsed on the bed, letting out a loud groan as he brought his hands up to cover his face. He had gone to the manor to rant at Ginny and get her to feel guilty about what she had done, and even that had went against his better judgement, but instead he had been made to feel like a complete fool. Sure, he had got angry with her, but the things that had come out of his mouth . . .

"Why did I do it?" he groaned, still with his hands over his face.

He had already heard everything from Blaise, so why had he felt so determined to go there? Even more disturbing was the fact that he had to know whether she liked Blaise or not. It wasn't just about the fact that she had kissed his friend in his body; it was the fact that she had kissed Blaise and enjoyed it. It frustrated him – frustrated him because she wasn't supposed to like Blaise. She wasn't supposed to like anyone, not even Potter. She was just Ginny Weasley – the feisty little Gryffindor that had somehow become his friend during the ridiculous situation they found themselves in, and he realised all too clearly that he didn't want to share her with anyone else.

But why?

Every time he had seen her with Blaise he had felt a pang of something foreign. Before he had thought it was because he was being left out and Blaise was _his_ friend, but now he realised it was because _she _was giving her attention to someone other than him. He was jealous, and realising that was more disturbing than anything else he had learnt that day.

He wasn't really sure why he felt so jealous, for he didn't think he had any romantic feelings for her. Hell, he didn't even _want_ to have romantic feelings for her, but he couldn't deny that the thought of her being with a boy made him unreasonably annoyed – even disturbed him. It just didn't make sense, and now more than ever did he wish that this body switching had not happened.

Draco sighed and rolled over on the bed. Why did things have to become so complicated? Why couldn't he go back to just hating her like he used to? Why did everything have to change? Why? Why? _Why_?

The door opened, and Draco looked up to see Hermione watching him with a frown. She liked Blaise, or at least that was what Ginny had said, but then Blaise liked Ginny, and Ginny liked Blaise . . .

The whole thing was a mess.

"What happened? I've been waiting for you to come back," Hermione said worriedly.

Draco sighed. "It's no big deal."

"Tell me," Hermione insisted, obviously realising that something was wrong.

That girl really was too nosy for her own good – and too perceptive as well.

"Blaise snogged Ginny and now my parents think I'm gay," Draco explained nonchalantly, leaning back against the bed.

"Blaise kissed—" Hermione held a hand to her head. "Oh no!"

"What? Upset that it was her and not you?" Draco taunted, unable to resist the temptation of making someone else as miserable as him.

"What?" Hermione asked in surprise. "Why would I want Zabini to kiss me?"

Draco frowned and sat up to look at her properly. "Weasley said you liked Blaise. I just assumed—"

Hermione's face flashed with confusion and slight annoyance, but there was no telltale sign that he had hit a nerve. In fact, she seemed genuinely surprised. Draco began to wonder if Ginny had been wrong.

"Blaise is not my type," Hermione said bluntly. "I don't know where she would have got that from, but I do not like Blaise Zabini any more than I do the Giant Squid."

"Oh . . ." Draco frowned. "So why did you look so worried before?"

"Because this could interfere with the spell," Hermione explained with a sigh. "From what I have read about what has happened to you two, it seems like emotions play a big part in these things, and her liking Blaise, or Blaise liking her, could potentially have an effect on the durability of the spell."

"So you think this could make things worse?" Draco asked with a sudden stab of worry.

If Blaise had somehow managed to make them more stuck like this because of his damn hormones, Draco would kill him – best friend or not.

"I don't know," Hermione said, shaking her head. "I honestly have no idea, but I do know that Ginny liking Blaise is a risky thing."

"You think she does like him then?" Draco asked sharply, feeling that same fierce curiosity to know how Ginny felt about Blaise.

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. She's never told me anything definite – only that she likes him as a friend."

"Well, friends don't usually snog each other on other people's beds," Draco said bitterly.

Hermione stared at him suspiciously. Draco inwardly cringed, knowing full well that his tone had sounded a little too jealous to be normal.

"Y-you—" Hermione held her hand to her head. "Oh my goodness. Do you like Ginny?"

"What? _No_!" Draco exclaimed vehemently. "Why would you say that?"

"You do, don't you?" Hermione persisted, giving a small laugh. "I would never have thought it."

"Well, I don't, so you can keep not thinking it," Draco retorted mutinously.

He didn't like that freckled, annoying thing. She was his friend (a reluctant friend at that), and that was it. There was absolutely nothing romantic between them. If he was jealous it was because he liked getting all the attention himself, that was all…

"If you say so," Hermione said rather disbelievingly, which only made Draco even more annoyed. He had the sudden desire to yell or throw something.

"Look, if you're just going to come in here and accuse me of liking Weasley, you can sod off," Draco snapped tiredly.

He didn't want to deal with this anymore. He had already suffered enough today without having any more horrible conversations.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, slightly subdued, and then took a seat next to him on the bed. "What are you going to do about your parents?"

Draco gave an inelegant snort. "About them thinking I'm gay? What can I do? Blaise and Ginny were having a merry old time kissing on my bed, which won't help my case at all. My parents will probably always think I'm gay no matter what I do."

It was slightly depressing to know.

"I'm sure they'll forget about it eventually," Hermione said in what he understood was an attempt to make him feel better. "After all, you're not gay, so eventually they will just forget it ever happened."

"Maybe," Draco sighed.

He hoped so anyway. He hated to think what Lucius thought of him, or his mother for that matter; she'd feel so let down.

"DINNER!"

"There goes our cue," Hermione said with a smile. She stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. Let's just go enjoy the food Mrs Weasley has made for us and forget about what happened for now. It's Christmas Eve; you should be happy, not brooding in here."

Draco sighed, but as Hermione's warm expression swiftly changed to firm, he realised the futility of arguing with her.

"Fine," he said shortly.

He stood up and followed her out of the room and down towards the dinner table, hoping that somehow this would all turn out. He took his usual seat next to Bill, only half listening as the loud Weasley family talked happily while they ate together. He couldn't let go of his rather depressing thoughts, for now more than ever did he realise just how much things had changed for him, and just how much things would continue to change. Whether Ginny liked Blaise or not, he did know that Blaise liked her and wouldn't hold back in getting her. It made him wonder where that would leave him. Blaise was his friend, and Ginny was—well, he didn't know what exactly Ginny was to him, but he knew if Blaise and Ginny went together, he'd be left in an odd situation . . .

"Eat," Hermione commanded in a low voice, staring at him sharply.

Draco sighed and looked at the food, which admittedly did look delicious. He just didn't have the heart to eat it right now, but with Hermione glaring at him, and Molly looking like she was about to start her force-feeding skills, he picked up the fork and started eating some of the roast chicken. After a while it started to become more natural, and he realised that he was rather hungry – that was until he realised Ron Weasley (who was sitting opposite him) was looking at him with an expression akin to complete horror.

"What?" Draco asked, frowning as he looked around the table at everyone staring at him with identical expressions of shock and horror. "Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

It was then that Draco realised his voice was not the soft, musical one he was used to hearing; instead, it was low and familiarly masculine. He looked down and realised there was no longer anything obstructing his vision. The boobs were gone, and it was with relief that he realised he no longer had anything that resembled anything particularly female, for he was once more in his own body.

"WHY THE HELL IS DRACO MALFOY IN MY HOUSE?" Ron bellowed, still looking thunderstruck, but clearly his brain seemed to have finally started working properly enough for him to voice his horror.

Ron's voice seemed to trigger everyone else's brains to start functioning as well, and soon the whole house was filled with Weasleys yelling at the top of their lungs. At one point Draco found himself in a tight headlock by who he thought was Fred, while George yelled something unintelligible in his ear. In fact, all the shouts were kind of morphed into one giant scream of distorted voices all demanding where Ginny was and what he had done to her.

"ENOUGH!" Hermione shouted in an ear-splitting shriek, making everyone look at her with open mouths. She took a deep breath and glared at Fred. "Let go of him."

Fred obliged, and Draco quickly stood back, massaging his neck where Fred's arm had been strangling him.

"Now would you all please just be quiet and let us explain?" Hermione said in a voice of forced calm.

"_Us_?" Ron exclaimed dramatically, waving his arms madly. "You mean you were in on this too?"

"Just shut up and listen, Ron," Bill admonished, and then turned to look at Hermione with a much calmer look than he had worn before. "Go on, Hermione."

Draco stood back, thinking it was better if he didn't talk. The Weasley's all looked like they were about to swear bloody murder for him anyway, so he was more than happy to let Hermione deal with this.

"Draco Malfoy is in your home because somehow he and Ginny switched bodies nearly three and a half weeks ago. I and another boy have been helping them research what happened to figure out a way to reverse the effect, but so far we've had no luck. It was too dangerous to tell anyone, so we tried to keep it as secret as possible while Ginny lived out Draco Malfoy's life and Malfoy here lived out Ginny's."

Harry had gone rather pale at that. "Do you mean to say that all of this time the person we thought was Ginny was actually Malfoy?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes that is exactly what I am saying."

"I think I'm going to be sick," Harry said in a disgusted voice.

And he looked it too, for his face had gone a nasty green colour. He was obviously remembering that kiss, and Draco felt strangely satisfied that he was not the only one who had suffered because of this ordeal.

"Well, if you're here, then where is my Ginny?" Mrs Weasley demanded, looking rather hawk-like for such a homely and normally nice woman.

Draco gulped and looked at Hermione for help.

"She's at the Malfoy manor," Hermione replied, giving a reassuring look at Draco. "They had no choice but to go to each other's homes over Christmas until things were sorted out, but it looks like things sorted themselves."

Draco suddenly paled. "Oh no," he groaned, making everyone's heads swivel back to him.

"What?" Fred and George asked in unison, giving him suspicious looks.

Draco ignored them and turned to look at Hermione. "Do you think if I changed back that means Weasley changed back too?"

Hermione frowned. "I guess."

Draco cursed and tore out of the room before anyone could say anything further to him. The sound of their loud exclamations followed him all the way up to Ginny's room where he grabbed her wand from the bedside table. He turned to see Hermione standing in the doorway.

"What's wrong?" she asked anxiously.

Draco gripped the wand tightly in his hand. "Do you have any idea what my father would do if he found Weasley in my house?"

Hermione paled at that, and her mouth dropped open in horror. "He wouldn't hurt her though, would he?"

"I don't know," Draco admitted, shaking his head as a sickly feeling of worry crept around in his stomach. "I honestly have no idea, but I don't want to wait around to find out. I have to get there, or contact her, or something!"

"Wait! We can use the _Esprit Joindre_ spell," Hermione said quickly, pulling out her wand. "That way you can see if she is alright before you go rushing off over there."

"You think that will work?" Draco asked with a frown. "I thought you had to be holding hands."

"I think because of the bond you two shared it should work anyway. It's worth a try, isn't it?"

"I guess," Draco agreed, trying to ignore the sickly feeling rising inside him with each passing second.

He just wanted to make sure that she was okay. If anything happened to her it would be his fault, and after the way they had parted today, he didn't want that to happen at all.

"Alright then, close your eyes," Hermione said softly.

The spell was cast, and Draco felt the painful feeling of his soul being ripped out of his body before everything went blank.

**OOOO**

_**Ginny**_, Draco said aloud as he stared around the dizzying darkness before him. The shadowy texture of it seemed to drain his very life.

_**Ginny!**_

This wasn't right. He was supposed to be able to see everything that she could see, so why could he only see black? And why wasn't she responding?

_**GINNY!**_

_**No**_, Draco said softly, feeling sickeningly helpless and scared.

He felt a sudden jerk inside himself, and soon he was speeding back to his own body. He breathed in a gasp of air as he fell to the ground from the impact of his soul crashing into his body. Coughing slightly, he stared at the floor and wondered what had just happened.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Hermione asked anxiously, helping him up off the ground.

Draco stumbled but quickly managed to steady himself, though he still felt strangely winded. "Something wasn't right," he said fretfully. "I couldn't see anything, and no matter how much I called she didn't answer." He clutched his chest. "It was painful just being with her . . . I think something forced me out."

Hermione stared at him with increasing horror. "Oh, no!"

"What?"

"We have a serious problem."

"Why?" Draco asked with misgiving.

"Because that only happens if the person is unable to think or . . . dead."

Draco clutched the wand tighter in his hand. He sucked in a deep breath and nodded, as if agreeing with himself on what he had to do.

"Owl Blaise and tell him what happened," he said firmly. "I'm going to visit my dear old father."

Hermione gripped his arm, stopping him from Disapparating straight away. Draco looked down at her with a curious look.

"Be careful," she said firmly, letting go of his arm.

He just nodded, giving her the smallest of smiles before vanishing with a loud crack.

Hermione stood there alone in the room, clutching her arms to her body as she wondered what had happened to Ginny, and what Lucius was planning to do.

"Please help her, Draco," Hermione whispered.


	13. Unlikely Allies

**Unlikely Allies **

Ginny opened her eyes groggily and sat up on the bed, groaning as a sharp pain surged through her head. She gazed about the unfamiliar room and realised with some anxiety that she had no idea where she was or even how she had got there. Probing her throbbing head got her nothing except another stab of pain and, feeling suddenly dizzy, Ginny placed her head on her knees and took a few deep breaths.

She had realised as soon as she had woken that she was no longer in Draco Malfoy's body, though that did nothing to reassure her. Something was definitely wrong, and the sickly feeling clinging to her skin did nothing to soothe her fears. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Lucius Malfoy had obviously done something to her after realising she wasn't his son, but the problem was that she couldn't remember what. Something had made her change back to herself, but what? And why was she not dead already? Why had Lucius spared her life?

Irritated that she couldn't make sense of the situation she now found herself in, Ginny decided to put her energy to more important matters – like getting out of this room. She tested her wobbly legs on the floor and almost fell flat on her face. Luckily, she had been suddenly inspired to grab hold of the bedpost and she now clung tightly to it to keep herself upright. Once she felt secure enough, she tried to walk again, though her legs felt like they would crumple on her in any second. However, she was determined to reach the door on the other side of the room.

"Please be unlocked," Ginny murmured.

She placed her hand around the door handle and tried to open the door. It did not move. Her expression fell comically. Feeling close to tears, she gave the door handle another fruitless tug before she collapsed to the floor in an exhausted heap and sobbed quietly to herself. She had no wand and no hope of getting out of here. She was literally relying on the mercies of a Death Eater who didn't give a scrap for her. Things could not be any worse.

Footsteps sounded behind the door, progressively getting louder as the person came closer to her room. Her heart quickened and she quickly scrambled away from the door until her back was pressed up against the side of the bed. It was true that Gryffindors were meant to be brave, but Ginny was no fool. She knew that her life was very much in danger and no amount of Gryffindor courage could help her out of this.

"_Please don't let them hurt me_," she thought desperately, and then the door was unlocked and slowly began to open, revealing a pair of black boots.

She let out an involuntary squeak of fright and chanced a glance up at the person entering the room, hoping that the owner of those boots was not who she thought it was. Cold grey eyes met her gaze, and a dark smile curled her captor's lips.

"Well, well, well," Lucius Malfoy said with a smirk. "It's not every day a little Weasley stumbles into my home. What should I do with the little Weasley?"

"Please," Ginny begged, feeling her heart literally trying to force its way out of her throat. "Please don't hurt me."

Normally her pride would not allow her to beg with anyone, but she knew better than to fight against him. He was more powerful, more experienced, and more at an advantage right now than she would ever be. She was completely in his hands. Not to mention she was dead frightened.

An amused smile flittered across Lucius's lips. "Be at ease little Weasley; I will not hurt you unless you give me a reason to do so."

Ginny swallowed against the lump in her throat. "What do you want with me?"

Lucius knelt down in front of her and smiled slightly, though the effect was in no way reassuring. "I want you to tell me where my son is and why it is that you were impersonating him."

His voice was gentle, but she knew better than to think he was trying to be nice. Lucius Malfoy was never one to lose his temper. He was always cold and collected – a statue of ice that could freeze anyone to his will. Still, she was not stupid enough to fight him either.

"H-he's at my home," she confided truthfully.

His eyes widened slightly and a slight frown crept onto his face. "Your home?" Lucius murmured. "And why is he there?"

"Because of the spell we were placed under . . ."

Her voice grew more confident as she began to explain just what had caused Draco Malfoy to be at the Burrow and she to be at Malfoy Manor. Lucius listened intently, all the while with that slight frown on his face. Once she had finished talking, he stood up, still gripping his wand in his hand.

"Thank you, Ginevra," he said with a chilling smile. "You have been most useful."

Ginny watched as he walked to the door and felt a wave of panic whirl inside her. "Wait!" she called. "What are you going to do with me?"

Lucius stopped and turned to face her with a thoughtful look on his face. "I could just kill you, but that is far too messy. No, I think I will hand you over to my master and let him decide what to do with you." He smiled suddenly and his eyes gleamed with amusement. "You see, I am never one to waste good opportunities, and I believe you could be very useful to us."

The whole world seemed to shatter in that moment, and Ginny was sure she had just fallen three feet through the floor. She had told him everything in the hopes that he would forget about hurting her, but she realised now how naïve she had been to think that Lucius Malfoy had a single merciful bone in his body. He was going to hand her over to Voldemort without a second thought, and who knew what would happen to her then.

"Don't you have any pity?" Ginny asked with a slight catch to her voice. "I've done nothing to you."

"My dear child, a blood traitor like you doesn't have to do anything to be a scourge on society. Why would I pity someone whose family has betrayed their own kind?"

Tears welled up in her eyes and slipped unchecked down her face. Lucius remained unmoved and then turned on his heel and left the room – the door closing and magically locking itself upon his exit.

Finding herself alone again, Ginny stared around the empty room and the sob that had been burning her throat finally broke out in a pathetically broken sound. What could she possibly do now? Would the father of her friend really be the reason for her early demise? And what about Draco? What would happen to him?

"This isn't how it was meant to be," Ginny whispered.

**OOOO **

Draco swore under his breath as the gates to the manor remained firmly shut. He had Apparated to his home straight away after discovering that Ginny might be in danger, but the wards had been turned on and now it was impossible for him to even get past the gate. He had spent the past half-hour fruitlessly casting spell after spell in the hopes of breaking his father's wards, but he knew deep down that this was never going to work.

He sighed and realised that he would just have to give up on his plan. He had hoped to sneak in and get Ginny out before either of his parents noticed, but that seemed a little ridiculous now that he couldn't even get past the gate. The fact that the wards had been turned on could only mean that Lucius already knew Ginny was in his home and had set up the wards so that her family could not go barging in and take her back.

"I guess I have no choice," Draco muttered.

He brought out Ginny's wand and touched it against a certain point on the large gate."Father," he spoke clearly, "I'm home. Please open the gate."

He waited in the chilly night for a few seconds before the gate slowly started to creak open. Draco took in a deep breath and then entered the grounds, trying to ignore the way his heart thudded uncomfortably against his ribs. He had no idea how he was going to make his father let Ginny go, but he knew that he needed to at least try. It would be his fault if she were hurt, after all.

The door to his home suddenly opened and Draco was greeted not by his father or the house-elf, as he was expecting, but by the tall, composed figure of his mother. His breath caught in his throat as he saw her eyes narrow at him, but then Narcissa's face softened and she walked over and pulled him into her arms, burying her face into his neck as she held him tightly against her.

"I was so worried," she whispered, still clutching him to her for dear life. "When I saw that the girl had been impersonating you I thought you were dead."

Draco felt himself relax in his mother's arms. He had missed her over the holidays. The Weasleys were crazy and the way they behaved towards each other was completely beyond his comprehension sometimes. It felt good to be back in his own home, with his own mother. However, there was no time for celebrations just yet. Ginny was still in danger.

He pulled himself away and looked into his mother's beautiful face. He knew that he could trust her. She may not like the Weasleys, but he also knew that she didn't care enough about that dislike to wish a girl like Ginny dead.

"Mother," he said earnestly, "where is Ginny?"

Her eyes lowered. "When the girl changed back into herself, your father went crazy. He used a spell on her to ensure her cooperation and took her away to one of the guest rooms, where he's been keeping her. I don't know if she has woken yet. I checked on her earlier but she was still unconscious."

"She's not hurt, is she?" Draco asked anxiously.

He felt literally sick at the thought of his father hurting his friend.

Narcissa shook her head. "No, he hasn't hurt her as far as I know. It was just a spell to keep her quiet and easier to interrogate." She placed her hand against his cheek. "We were so worried about you . . ."

Draco ignored his mother's fretting words about his own welfare and tried to think how he could help Ginny, yet found himself quite at a loss as to what he could do. Would his father even listen to him? He looked at his mother and wondered if she could help. She was the only one who really stood up to Lucius. He was sure she could get his father to stop this insanity if she really wanted to.

"It doesn't matter about that now," Draco interrupted. "I'm perfectly fine. The Weasleys did nothing but try over-feeding me to death. But, Mother, we need to help her. She's just as innocent in this as me, and I know that Father will not just let her go."

"You're probably right," Narcissa agreed in a low voice.

A frown settled on her lips, and she suddenly looked at Draco with a piercing look. He felt like her eyes were seeing right through him, which wasn't a comforting thought.

"It's not like you to care about Weasleys, Draco," Narcissa observed. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

He shook his head, knowing that they were wasting precious time just standing here talking about this.

"What does it matter?" he exclaimed. He grabbed her hand and held it firmly in his grasp. "Will you really leave her to father to do with her what he wants because she's a Weasley? You're the one who said that you don't like what the Death Eaters do. I know you don't really like blood traitors and Mudbloods either, but you would not kill them, would you? You're not like those Death Eaters, are you?"

She shook her head, her blue eyes watching him in wonder.

"I don't care if she is a Weasley," Draco continued. "She doesn't deserve to be hurt just because a spell decided to force us to switch bodies, or because of her family's actions. She doesn't deserve that at all . . ."

Tears slipped down his mother's cheeks and a rather watery smile crept to her lips. "Well said, my son." She closed her fingers around his. "Let's go stop your father."

Draco closed his eyes as he let out an inward sigh of relief. "Thank you," he whispered gratefully.

Narcissa simply nodded her head, then led the way to the room where Ginny was being kept. "Your father is in there with her right now," she confided. "Let's just hope he has not decided to take matters into his own hands."

His stomach twisted uncomfortably at her words, but Draco remained calm as they walked down the hallway. The sound of a door closing and locking echoed down the long corridor, and both Narcissa and Draco stared as Lucius stood before them with a rather surprised expression on his face.

"Draco," he exclaimed in wonder, "is that really you?"

Lucius walked forward a few steps and stared at his son as if seeing him for the first time. His grey eyes were, for once, free from their icy coldness, and his mouth was not marred by any sneer. He looked human – relieved, just as a father should.

"I'm home, Father."

"And another child must now go home," Narcissa said firmly, her eyes taking on a steely glint. "The girl cannot stay here, Lucius."

Lucius's face changed swiftly until he was once more wearing his mask of icy politeness. "She's just a Weasley," he said dismissively. "Besides, she could help the Dark Lord win this war. I can't let her go back to her home."

"Oh, don't be a fool," Narcissa snapped harshly. "Think about what you're doing, Lucius. Is power really worth this? Are you so unsatisfied with your life that you must risk our lives and that girl's just for a bit of power?"

"I'm doing this for the good of our family!"

"No you're not!" Narcissa cried, finally losing her calm as the words that she had suppressed for so long were finally unleashed. "You're doing this for yourself, and you're even more of a fool if you think that the Dark Lord will give you anything! He doesn't care about you, Lucius; he doesn't care about any of us. All he wants is Potter dead!"

Tears gathered at her eyes, and Draco watched in amazement as she wiped them impatiently aside. He realised in that moment how truly wrong he had been about his mother. He had always thought her a slightly fickle woman, but listening to her passionate entreaties made him see that she was so much more than that.

Narcissa met her husband's gaze boldly. "That girl in there may be a blood traitor, but she is still human, Lucius. She has a family just like we do. I don't care if you hate them; I don't care if you hate her – just think about what you're doing. Think about the family that you will be destroying by taking away their child."

"They're blood traitors, Narcissa. They don't deserve my pity."

"What if it was Draco?" Narcissa asked softly.

Lucius's eyes flickered to his son, but he did not say anything.

"He's been in that family's care this whole time and not once did they hurt him. When he changed back to himself, they did not lock him away or physically incapacitate him with a curse. They allowed him to come back home to us, and you cannot tell me that you were not relieved to see him again. You cannot tell me that you were not afraid that he might have been killed." She reached out and took her husband's hands in her own, her tear-filled eyes meeting his imploringly. "Will you deny this family the same relief? Will you deny them their only daughter?"

"I—"

"Please, Lucius. Let's just forget what we've been taught about blood traitors. Let's just let that girl go home to her family. It's Christmas, for heaven's sake. We should be enjoying this time with our own family, not trying to set up plans to kill teenage boys by using innocent girls as bait."

Lucius seemed to deflate like an old balloon and slowly nodded his head. Draco could hardly believe his eyes. It almost seemed too good to be true, yet his father was keeping to his word. The older blond took down the wards and then released the locks keeping Ginny trapped inside. He then opened the door and walked into the room, Draco and Narcissa following behind.

Draco's first glimpse of her was to see her red hair sprawling around her like a fiery cape as she sat huddled on the ground clutching her knees. She turned at the sound of their footsteps, tears staining her cheeks, and her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw not just Lucius, but also Narcissa and Draco.

"Get up," Lucius commanded roughly.

Clearly his compassion didn't extend for her to actually see.

Ginny stayed huddled on the ground, staring at them in fear and some confusion. She did not understand what was going on.

"Come, child," Narcissa said softly as she reached down her hand and helped Ginny to her feet. "It's time to go home."

"I—I can go home?" Ginny asked, her tears falling even more freely as she looked up at Narcissa.

Narcissa's eyes softened and a kind smile came to her lips. "Yes, we're taking you home." She smoothed back Ginny's hair and wiped away the tears from her face. "Your family are waiting for you."

Ginny let out a pathetic sob and hugged Narcissa tightly, burying her face into the older woman's shoulder as she cried in relief. Draco looked at his father, who was as stoic as ever, yet there was a much softer light in his grey eyes.

Narcissa gently disengaged herself from Ginny and took her hand in hers, then transferred her attention to Lucius. "I shall take her back." Her eyes flickered to Draco. "Will you come too?"

Draco nodded his head and walked over to his mother where he took hold of her arm. Narcissa pulled out her wand and raised it in the air, then they all turned as one and disappeared with a loud crack.

When Draco opened his eyes again, it was to see the lopsided Burrow before him. The front door to the house opened and all the Weasleys came bursting out, obviously alerted to their arrival by the sound of people Apparating. He spotted Hermione and Harry also in the crowd, but Mrs Weasley's loud exclamations diverted his attention back to her as the plump woman came rushing over.

"Ginny! Oh, my poor Ginny!"

Mrs Weasley stopped when she saw Draco and Narcissa, and her eyes took on a slightly mistrustful gleam.

"You do not need to look at me like that," Narcissa said smoothly. "I'm simply returning her to you."

Mrs Weasley didn't appear to be reassured by these words and placed her hands on her well-endowed hips. "You're telling me that you came all this way just to hand my daughter to me?"

"Mum," Ginny said in a small voice, pulling herself away from Narcissa and walking forward. "I'm okay." She looked back at Narcissa and smiled softly. "This woman helped me."

Draco watched as Mrs Weasley's face softened, so that she just looked relieved.

"Is this true?" she demanded.

Ginny nodded. "Yes. I would still be there if it were not for Mrs Malfoy."

"You helped my baby girl?"

Narcissa placed a hand on Ginny's shoulder and met Mrs Weasley's eyes with an understanding expression on her face. "You took care of my son while he has been here. The least I could do was return the favour. Besides, our children are both innocent in this war. I do not think it right to hurt them because of our mistakes."

"I have wronged you, Narcissa," Mrs Weasley said in a subdued voice. "I am sorry."

Narcissa laughed a little bitterly. "You have nothing to be sorry for. If I had only talked to my husband earlier perhaps none of this would have happened. It is my son you really have to thank. He is the one that pushed me to talk to Lucius."

"Is this true?"

Draco nodded his head. Mrs Weasley suddenly came striding towards him, causing Draco's eyes to widen in sudden trepidation, and then he was enfolded in a very tight embrace. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ginny being squeezed to death by her brothers as each took their turn in hugging her.

"Thank you! Oh, thank you!" Mrs Weasley cried, still crushing him in her arms.

"Don't suffocate him," Bill said in an amused voice.

Much to Draco's relief, she released him and took a step back, though a watery smile still lingered on her lips. Mr Weasley walked over and held out his hand to Draco with a broad grin on his face. Draco took the proffered hand a little shyly. He was not used to being treated this way.

"Thank you, son," Arthur said in his usual quiet way. "You have made us all very happy." He smiled at Narcissa. "And you too. We cannot thank you enough."

"It is nothing. Please, enjoy your Christmas together," Narcissa said awkwardly, also feeling a little uncomfortable by the Weasley's attentions.

Draco stood back as Ginny's parents continued talking to his mother, and felt a small tap on his shoulder. He turned, catching a glimpse of long red hair and chestnut eyes before he once more found himself being pulled into a hug.

"Thank you, Draco," Ginny whispered, resting her face against his chest as she held him to her. "I know you were the one who made this possible."

He frowned as he stared down at the top of her head, then hesitantly returned her embrace. "It's okay," he murmured.

She pulled back slightly and looked up at him with a warm smile. Her eyes were still glistening with tears, and the small droplets clinging to her lashes seemed to sparkle as they caught the light of the night sky.

"You know, I'm glad we switched bodies," she said softly.

"Why's that?"

"Because I would never have got to know you like I have. I would have continued hating you." She gave a wobbly smile and leaned her face back against his chest. "We would never have become friends."

Draco felt his heart speed up on its own accord and wondered why he felt strangely warm all over his body, even though the night itself was cold. It was strange, and he didn't understand why he should suddenly feel this way.

"Aren't you glad too?" she whispered.

"I guess it wasn't so bad," he said after a moment. Her arms were still locked tightly around him, and his frown deepened as he stared down at her. "Why are you holding me like this?"

Ginny only held him tighter. "Don't you like it?"

He squirmed uncomfortably. It was very difficult to deal with Ginny when she was in her own body and he was in his.

"I . . . I'm just not used to it."

She laughed lightly and finally pulled herself away. Draco was surprised to feel a strange sense of loss. He almost wanted to pull her right back and hold her again.

"Well, I guess I'll see you again after Christmas."

He nodded his head. "Guess so."

A shadow descended over them and Draco turned his head to see his mother standing there.

"Let's go home, Draco," Narcissa said softly.

Draco nodded his head and stepped closer to his mother so he could Disapparate with her. His eyes found Ginny's face, who was smiling brightly at him. He couldn't help but smile in reply, unable to resist that infectious grin, and then he was gone.


	14. A Romance Rebuffed and Reborn

**A Romance Rebuffed and Reborn **

Ginny's return to Hogwarts in her own body was not a pleasant one. Somehow, the news that she and Draco had switched bodies had spread throughout the school. It was too much to ask that the students would be forgiving upon realising that she had helped Slytherin win the Quidditch House Cup. The Gryffindors despised her, save her family, Harry, Hermione, and those few who didn't care enough about Quidditch – or her for that matter – to hold a grudge against her. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were reluctant to associate with her, for they had wanted Slytherin to lose just as much as the Gryffindors. In the end, the only students who were nice to her were the Slytherins themselves. Perhaps that was why she found herself in the Slytherin common room one cold winter evening, attending the first party thrown for a Gryffindor in all of Hogwarts history.

"Three cheers for Ginny Weasley, the honorary Slytherin!" Romulus Castrande shouted cheerfully, already half drunk from the firewhisky his fellow Slytherins had snuck into the common room.

The common room erupted with cheers, followed by the clinking of bottles and glasses clashing together as people toasted each other. Ginny blushed and looked away from the intimidating boy who was still standing rather precariously on the table. She privately thought that she didn't need any more congratulations from this Slytherin goalkeeper. He had already embarrassed her enough by giving her a great, smacking kiss on her lips when she had first entered the common room.

"Seems you made quite the impression while you were in my body," an amused voice said from behind her.

Ginny's eyes lit up at the sound of the familiar voice, and she turned see Draco watching her with a smirk and a decidedly amused look in his eyes. Her own smile crept onto her face and the smallest of dimples appeared on her cheek.

"Surprised?" she asked, peeping up at him through her lashes.

Draco laughed and shook his head. "No. You seem to make a stir wherever you go, whether you're trying or not."

Her lips quivered slightly. "I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not."

The smirk came back and he leaned against the table, meeting her eyes with the look of someone who was being thoroughly entertained. "Don't kid yourself, Weasley. You'll be getting no compliments from me."

"And here I was thinking that you had turned over a new leaf and were going to be nice to me." Her eyes danced mischievously. "I see now that you're still just a great prat."

He folded his arms in mock outrage. "And I see you still have no manners to save yourself. I hope you're still not running around with jerseys on your head and banging into innocent people."

Ginny had the grace to blush and fidgeted with the cup of punch in her hand. "I don't run around with jerseys on my head. I was only doing it that time because I was late for Quidditch practise." Her dimple peeped out again. "Besides, no one else seems to mind my lack of manners. Greg thinks it's cute."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Goyle would think anything to do with you is cute. Have you seen him by the way?"

"No."

She looked around the crowded common room for a sign of the trollish boy and absently raised her cup to her lips. Draco's hand closed around hers and pulled her arm – and the cup – forcefully back down.

"You don't want to drink that," he said firmly, placing the cup down on the table and gesturing towards the firewhisky bottles. "It's spiked."

"Thanks," Ginny said gratefully.

The last thing she wanted was to get drunk and have some over-happy Slytherin take her to his bed so that he could show her how much he _really_ appreciated her helping them win the cup.

Draco merely nodded, then leaned back against the drinks table. "I heard Potter tried to get back with you," he said after a moment.

"Yeah."

Ginny lowered her eyes to the ground as she thought of Harry. That had been a rather awkward conversation, but Ginny had long since realised that she did not love Harry and so had not been moved by the renewal of his affections. He seemed to have taken the refusal somewhat well, which was more than what she had expected. Sometimes, she thought that he felt just as obligated to date her as she had for him. She hoped he found someone though. For all that Harry frustrated her, she did love him as a friend.

"I hope he'll be okay," she mumbled, more to herself.

"So you really don't like him then?" Draco asked curiously.

She met his eyes with a sad sort of smile. "I like Harry, but I will never love him. I guess I have you to thank for helping me realise that."

Draco smirked in a satisfied way. "That's nice to know. Upsetting Potter is my favourite pastime."

"You're terrible!" Ginny scolded, hitting him lightly on the arm. "Honestly, Draco, Harry's not _that_ bad."

"I was pretending to be you for a month and had to deal with him on a day-to-day basis. I think I have enough experience with Potter to safely say that I don't like him."

Her eyes sparkled with amusement. "I suppose. It's not as if he likes you anyway."

"My point. The world may start spouting peace and love, but nothing will make me want to spend even a second in Harry Potter's company unless it is to try and make him cry." His smirk faded into a frown. "I still haven't succeeded with that either."

Ginny could only laugh, even as she shook her head in resignation. "You'll never change, will you?"

"Would you want me to?" he asked, smirking down at her in that arrogant way only he could pull off.

She met his gaze with a thoughtful look and a smile slowly curved her lips. "No," she said finally. "I don't think I would."

"Ginny, come and dance with us!" Pansy yelled.

Ginny didn't even get a chance to respond before she was being dragged away by Pansy to where some of the other Slytherins were dancing. She looked back at Draco and gave him a smile and a shrug, as if to say "I guess that's the end of our conversation", and then joined in dancing with the other girls.

Draco thrust his hands into his pockets, feeling just a little annoyed that Pansy had interrupted their conversation. There was nothing he could do about it now, however, so he contented himself by watching the redhead dance, admiring the way her long red hair flowed out freely behind her as she twirled and swayed to the chaotic pulse of the music. She looked so alive, so completely free. Maybe that was why he couldn't help but stare. It was difficult not to be drawn to her vibrancy.

Someone slapped him on the back, and Draco turned to see Blaise's friendly face beaming at him.

"Where's our lady of honour?" Blaise asked, peering around the room in the hopes of finding the redhead.

"Over there," Draco responded, pointing at the group of girls dancing together.

Blaise grinned and ruffled his black hair unnecessarily so that it looked more tousled than ever. "How do I look?"

"Does it really matter?" Draco asked, rolling his eyes. "It's only Ginny."

"Blasphemy, that is." Blaise grinned and gave a small wink to Draco. "I'm going to go make my move. Wish me luck!"

Draco said nothing and watched as his friend strutted over to Ginny and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to face Blaise and her cheeks went a bit pink, but then Millicent suddenly blocked Draco's view with her bulky body, and he never did get to see what happened between the two after that. He sighed and picked up a bottle of firewhisky from the table, which he then took a long swig from. For all his "it's only Ginny" comments, he couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance when he saw Blaise and Ginny together.

He spotted Crabbe and Goyle drinking in a corner together and made his way over to them, taking up residence next to Crabbe his own bottle clutched tightly in his hand. They both gave him identical blank looks as they tried to decipher who had just invaded their corner. Crabbe suddenly cracked a trollish grin and slapped Goyle on the back.

"Look, Goyle. It's Draco."

Goyle gave an equally trollish grin in reply. "You're right, Crabbe." His smile died as a frown settled on his lips. "You never told us you were here, Draco." His dull eyes turned back to Crabbe. "He never told us he was here, did he, Crabbe?"

"I don't think so," Crabbe said stupidly, his eyes going slightly cross-eyed as they flicked towards Draco. "Did you?"

"No, I didn't. I only just got here," Draco retorted impatiently.

Sometimes he wondered why he was friends with such blockheads.

Crabbe grinned drunkenly at Goyle. "He didn't tell us he was here."

Draco sighed and gazed about the room, pausing when he saw a tall, black-haired boy and a red-haired girl head towards the boys' dormitories. His eyes narrowed.

"Look at him," Draco muttered angrily, still following the couple with his eyes.

"At who?" Crabbe and Goyle asked in unison, both swivelling their heads in opposite directions so that their skulls cracked together loudly.

Draco ignored their drunken swearing, being too caught up in his own jealous emotions, and gestured at Blaise. "Him, you dolts." He clenched his hands into fists and a dark scowl marred his face. "Stupid smarmy git. Who does he think he is flirting with Weasley like that?"

Crabbe stared at Draco for a moment, then a frown crept onto his normally vacant face. "Uh, that smarmy git is your best friend."

"So." Draco spat, looking decidedly mutinous.

He knew he was being unreasonable, but that didn't mean he would feel any more charitable towards Blaise. He didn't care if Blaise was his best friend; he didn't even care that Blaise liked Ginny. He only cared about the fact that seeing them together made his insides burn with unquenchable annoyance. He was jealous of Blaise – so jealous that it made him want to scream, but he was also too damn proud to admit it to anyone, even to himself.

Perhaps if Crabbe and Goyle were not so notoriously stupid and drunk they might have realised why it was that Draco was holding such a grudge against their good-natured friend – or at least figured out that something was wrong. But, as it was, they were both drunk and stupid, so no one was any wiser as to why Draco was looking so particularly murderous that evening. Nor did anyone understand why the blond decided to leave the party early while muttering curses that would have made even Salazar Slytherin cover his ears in shame.

**OOOO **

Ginny sat down a little nervously on the bed. Her cheeks were still lightly flushed from seeing Blaise again. Considering the fact that the last time she had seen the handsome, amber-eyed boy was when she had just been snogged senseless by him, it was a little understandable that she should be feeling so embarrassed and awkward right now.

Blaise sat down on the bed next to her, his leg just barely touching hers. "Are you comfortable?" he asked gently.

She was very conscious of his leg lightly pressing against hers and squirmed awkwardly, looking anywhere but at his face. "I'm fine."

He laughed and she could feel his warm breath tickling her neck, making the small, sensitive hairs prickle pleasantly. He turned her face towards him with his finger, meeting her gaze steadily with those gorgeous amber eyes. "You're as stiff as McGonagall. What's wrong? You're not afraid of me now, are you?"

Her breath hitched sharply at seeing him so close, and her heart began pounding so hard in her chest that she could feel her whole body pulsing to the rhythm. She stared at his eyes, at his lips, and then her mind seemed to cloud over with a strange sort of fogginess so that she could barely think straight. He was just too handsome, too nice. Too good to be true.

"Blaise," she said a little breathlessly, staring deep into his eyes. "Why did you kiss me that day?"

He frowned for a moment, then shrugged. "Seemed a good idea at the time."

At first, Ginny thought that she hadn't heard him right, but then his words seemed to finally register to her heat-fogged brain and, quite suddenly, she no longer felt so breathless. She stood up quickly and glared down at him.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time?" she repeated, close to a shriek. "Is that all I am to you? Just a good idea?"

"No! I mean – forget what I said!" He stood up and grabbed her hands tightly in his. "I like you, Ginny. I like you a lot."

She met his amber eyes and thought he seemed sincere, but she was just so confused. That day he had kissed her had been so unexpected, and while she was of course naturally attracted to such a handsome boy, she couldn't help but wonder if she only thought she might like him because he was just that. Before the kiss, he had always just been an amusing friend to have around. She had known he was handsome, of course, just as she had always been attracted to him. But she had never felt anything particularly romantic for him. She also couldn't get rid of the fear that she was just a passing fancy. Blaise had scores of girls flocking after him and had never settled down with the same one for too long. He went through girls like Neville went through Remembralls. It was not a comforting thought.

Ginny held her chin high. "I suppose you like me just as you liked Daphne Greengrass, and Padma Patil, and Susan Bones, and-"

"Ginny," Blaise interrupted with slightly flushed cheeks, "I know my reputation isn't perfect, but I honestly wouldn't do that to you. You're different to those other girls."

In a way, she wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe him because out of all the boys she knew, Blaise was the handsomest, nicest, and funniest of the bunch. She just didn't know if that was enough for her. Her last relationship had been founded on the childish fancies of a girl enamoured with the legend of Harry Potter, but she had soon learnt that the boy himself had been much different. She didn't want to make the same mistake again.

"Am I though?" she asked.

Blaise seemed floored by her question and frowned as he tried to figure out what to say in reply.

"I don't think you really like me, Blaise." He opened his mouth to argue but Ginny continued on. "I think you only _think_ you like me. Maybe you even just _want_ to like me."

"That's not true." Blaise stared down at their intertwined hands. "I do like you, Ginny."

"But do you really?" She frowned and gently pulled her hands away from his. "I just don't know, Blaise. Maybe you do genuinely like me, but I also think that just as soon as you decide to like me, you'll just as quickly find me boring and move on to someone else."

"I don't think anyone could get bored of you. You're perfect in every way."

She laughed freely at that. "You're joking? Blaise, are you sure you're all right in the head? Just ask Draco to tell you what I'm like. I have no manners and I'm always getting into trouble, not to mention I have a family who would hex you for even daring to come near me."

"I don't care. I like you, Ginny. You're everything I could want in a girl and more."

He seemed in earnest, but even if he did like her, she still was unsure about her own feelings. More importantly, she was dubious about the durability of his.

"So prove it!" she challenged. "Prove to me that these aren't just empty words."

Blaise looked down in defeat, clearly at a loss what to say. She doubted he had ever had to explain himself to a girl before, but Ginny was no girl to be taken in by a handsome face and a charming personality. He needed to prove his feelings were more than just rehearsed words. He needed to prove that what he claimed he felt was real.

"I've got to go, Blaise." Ginny smiled awkwardly at him and then quickly left the room.

Blaise sighed as she shut the door behind her and collapsed back on the bed. He stared at the roof with his eyes narrowed in frustration and a heavy frown on his lips. Never had a girl refused him before. Never had he been asked to prove his love. Perhaps that was why he was so at a loss on what he could do.

Ginny had been right in thinking that Blaise had never needed to explain himself. Girls really did just flock to him, and who could blame them? He was handsome, charming and could get a smile out of anyone. Placed beside Draco, Crabbe and Goyle, he seemed like an angel sent out of heaven. However, there was one fault he did have: his tendency to grow bored. No matter how much Blaise believed himself to be in love with a girl, there was always a point where the lustre would fade and he would lose interest. It was a fatal flaw that could not be remedied easily. Even worse was the fact that he didn't realise he had this debilitating problem.

The door opened and Blaise sat up to see Crabbe and Goyle walk in with their arms around each other, both singing very out of key. Not even bothering to wonder how they ended up that way, Blaise just flopped back on the bed and heaved a great sigh.

"What's wrong with you?" Crabbe asked, now trying to balance his empty firewhisky bottle on his head.

Blaise held an arm over his eyes. "How do you prove you like a girl?"

The bottle on Crabbe's head fell to the ground with a clunk and rolled under the bed. Crabbe's dull eyes stared at the bed for a moment before turning back to the now irritated Blaise.

"Well, you could always write a love poem," Crabbe said with a shrug. "Girls like those."

"A love poem, hrm?"

Blaise thought about it and wondered if it would work. Surely she'd have to realise he really did care about her if he took the effort to write her a love poem.

"Yeah," Crabbe continued. "Just put some rubbish about her hair and stuff and you'll have her falling in your lap."

Goyle grinned. "I've had a girl in my lap before. It was nice."

Blaise shuddered at the image that had just been put into his head. He did not need to know about Goyle's bedroom escapades.

Ignoring the two trollish boys, who were now discussing their triumphs in the bedroom (which, oddly enough, were both with Millicent Bullstrode), Blaise reached into his bag and pulled out some parchment, a quill, and a pot of ink. He sat up on his bed and started scribbling down a poem for Ginny, not quite sure whether he was doing it right or not. He had never written a poem for someone before.

Once more the door opened and all three boys looked up to see Draco walk in, looking a little mellower now that he had cooled down after his recent jealous fury. Draco frowned as he took in the odd scene: Crabbe and Goyle were standing as if frozen in mid conversation while Blaise was holding a dripping quill with parchment screwed up all around him.

"What are you all doing?" Draco asked, closing the door behind him.

Crabbe grinned. "Look, Goyle, it's Draco."

Draco sighed, not wanting a repeat of last time. "Yes, it's me, and yes I didn't tell you I was here." His eyes flickered to Blaise curiously. "And what are you doing? Obviously these two idiots are still too drunk out of their minds to say anything of value."

"He's writing a love poem," Crabbe interposed, clearly in a talkative mood tonight.

Draco looked at his friend questioningly. Blaise had the grace to blush under that grey scrutiny.

"That's a first," the blond observed wryly.

"Well, things didn't go so well," Blaise admitted with a slight scowl. "Ginny says that I don't really like her, I just I think I do. So now I'm proving to her that I do like her by writing a love poem."

"It was my idea," Crabbe put in proudly.

Draco frowned and took the parchment from Blaise's hands.

"_You smell like broomsticks," _he read aloud. "_I like your hair—"_

He tore his eyes away from the parchment and stared at Blaise with a mixture of amusement and disbelief. Was Blaise actually serious in thinking that this was a good love poem?

"What is this crap?" he demanded.

"A love poem?" Blaise responded tentatively.

Draco laughed. His friend seemed to be able to do everything to get a girl, but clearly writing love poems was not one of his fortes.

"This isn't a love poem, Blaise. This is the kind of rubbish five year old boys give to their crushes after they've spent the past year tugging on her hair."

"Well, I don't know," Blaise muttered with an embarrassed scowl and snatched the parchment back. "I've never had to write a love poem before, have I?"

Draco's eyes glinted with amusement. "Maybe you should just give up on her now then, if you can't even write a poem to get her to accept you, that is."

"I can't!" Blaise cried exasperatedly, practically tearing his hair out in frustration. "I can't give up on her. She means everything to me."

Perhaps Blaise was right, but Draco didn't doubt that his friend would also be saying the same thing about an entirely different girl in a few months. He'd seen it happen again and again, and though a small part of him wondered if this time maybe Blaise was really genuine and would continue to like Ginny, the rest of him didn't want to believe it at all.

"Can't you help me write the poem, Draco?" Blaise asked, sheer desperation shining through his amber eyes. "Please! I'll do anything to have her! Please!"

Draco was all ready to laugh in his friend's face and tell him to figure out for himself how to get Ginny, but then he met those anxious amber eyes and knew that he didn't have the heart to do it. For all that he was a spoilt, selfish brat, Draco genuinely did care about his friends and truly did want them to be happy. As much as he hated seeing Ginny with Blaise, he also knew it was unfair for him to hate Blaise simply for liking the redhead. He also realised that, for all he knew, Ginny may very well like Blaise in return. It wouldn't be right to keep them away from each other because of his own petty jealousy.

"Okay."

Blaise beamed. "You will?"

"Yeah," Draco said tiredly. "Give me the parchment."

"You got it!" Blaise said happily, handed Draco the parchment, quill and ink.

Draco dipped the quill in the ink and held it poised above the parchment. His brow creased into a frown as he thought about Ginny and all that she meant to him, picturing her impish face and long, flowing red hair easily in his mind. His eyes softened and a small smile began to curl his lips. He didn't need anything more than that image to write what he needed, and, still with the warm smile on his face, he began to write the poem.

Once he was finished, he silently handed it to Blaise, who read it in awed silence.

"This is amazing," Blaise declared.

Draco gave a weak smile. "I hope she likes it."

Blaise practically danced around on the spot. "She's bound to, and then she'll realise how much I like her and say yes! I'm going to send it to her first thing tomorrow morning!"

Draco walked over to his bed and collapsed on it with a sigh, finding that he was quite unable to listen to Blaise gloat about how much Ginny would fall for him after reading the love poem. Writing that poem had been a bad idea, not because it would help Blaise get Ginny, but because now Draco had finally realised what had been staring him in the face this whole time.

"_I like her."_


	15. Falsely Captured Hearts

**A/N:** Unfortunately, like Blaise, I too have not written a love poem before – not to mention I wrote this about five years ago. So, while Draco's poem will be better than Blaise's terrible attempt, I also cannot promise that it will be anything that spectacular. ^_~

**Falsely Captured Hearts**

Ginny trudged back to the Gryffindor common room that night with a feeling of great discontent rising inside her. It bothered her that Blaise liked her, especially since he had not been able to prove that he really did. She knew that things would be weird between them now – even weirder than when he had kissed her that day and left her feeling horribly confused. He had asked her to be his girlfriend and she had refused him. It would be a miracle if their friendship didn't become strained.

She suddenly giggled as she thought of what Draco would say if he heard Blaise calling her perfect. She knew that, whatever his comment, it would be the reverse of Blaise's sentiments. Still, it had become apparent to Ginny that Draco's name-calling was more affectionate teasing now rather than the rude comments he had used to make when they had first got caught up in this affair.

A fond smile came to her lips as she thought about just how far she and Draco had come along in a month. They had started as enemies and then had slowly become reluctant friends. And now – now she couldn't picture Hogwarts without his sarcastic comments, arrogant smirk and mocking grey eyes. A month ago, she would have scoffed at the thought that she might actually enjoy Draco Malfoy's company, but now she was more than happy to admit it. She would never forget how safe and warm she had felt in his arms that night he and his mother had rescued her.

Ginny's smile grew as she remembered her conversation with him at the party and how they had both teased each other over the jersey fiasco. She was surprised he had even remembered, but then it was just like him to treasure a memory like that. He would have thought it good ammunition.

"Are you going to come in or not?" the Fat Lady demanded grumpily. "I would like to get some sleep, you know."

"Sorry," Ginny mumbled.

She said the password and then scrambled through the portrait hole, only to freeze as she realised what she was looking at. Hermione was sitting very closely to Harry on one of the red couches, with her head resting against his shoulder. She seemed to be smiling at something he said, and Ginny watched as Harry's expression softened as he looked down at the bushy-haired girl next to him. The redhead quickly stepped back, ducking behind a part of the wall so she could hide from view but still watch the two Gryffindors.

Seeing them so comfortably together made a different smile come to her face than the goofy one she had been wearing earlier; this was a slow smirk that was full of realisation and playful mischief. The two presented such a perfect picture together, not that she thought either of them would realise it, as both were too thick to see what was right in front of their noses. An evil idea came into her head – the kind of idea that only a true matchmaker would appreciate. She tiptoed back towards the portrait hole, then turned and walked loudly towards the couple on the chair.

"My, my," Ginny began with a cheeky smile, "aren't you two cosy?"

A faint tinge of pink spread over both Harry and Hermione's cheeks, and Hermione quickly moved away from Harry and straightened her skirt needlessly. Ginny smirked – something that would have made Draco very proud to see.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked, trying to put on a stern expression. "I haven't seen you since dinner."

Ginny waved away the question with a careless hand. "The Slytherins decided to throw a party for me in honour of helping them win the cup." She gave a grimace and shook her head. "I could have done with half of their congratulations, though. Some of them were a little too eager."

Harry's embarrassed expression descended into a frown. "I know you didn't have much choice since you were pretending to be Draco, but did you really have to help them win?"

"Oh, come on, Harry, what would you have done in my position? Quidditch is Quidditch, no matter what side you're on. I wanted to win!"

He shrugged and gave her a rueful smile. "I guess you're right."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, the way the school is carrying on about this, you'd think Ginny helped Voldemort win the war. It's completely ridiculous."

"That's Quidditch for you," Ginny responded with a snort. "People think of it as a life and death situation. Steal that Snitch from out of your friend's grasp and you'll be enemies for life."

"Well, I still think it's stupid," Hermione declared loftily, "and I think the school need to get over it."

Ginny shrugged. Sure, she was annoyed at the way she was being treated, but it could have been worse. She was too optimistic to stay angry about it for too long anyway.

"I don't really care." Her dimple peeped out. "Besides, it's quite hilarious to think that I'm the only Gryffindor to ever be called an honorary Slytherin."

"No need to look so smug about it," Harry said with an amused smile, which Ginny returned with her own cheeky grin.

She was glad the tension between her and Harry had gone. Hermione had worked wonders in getting Harry to realise that Ginny was not the right girl for him, which Ginny would be eternally thankful for. However, seeing the two on the couch just before made her wonder if Hermione had had ulterior motives.

"So you were celebrating with the Slytherins," Hermione mused. "Being stuck in Draco Malfoy's body has certainly changed a lot for you, Ginny."

"I know," Ginny said seriously, "and not just for me either. Narcissa Malfoy wrote me a really nice letter. She wants me to come and have lunch with her during one of the Hogsmeade weekends. Can you believe it? A Weasley going to have lunch at the Malfoy's mansion!" She laughed and her eyes brewed with amusement. "I wonder what her husband will think."

Harry rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I heard through Remus that Lucius Malfoy betrayed the Death Eaters two days after you were taken back to the Burrow. I don't think he'll mind that much."

"I guess Draco and I aren't the only ones getting over our prejudice of each other," Ginny said, taking a seat on one of the opposite chairs. "Who would have thought our body-switching fiasco could actually make a Death Eater like Lucius Malfoy betray You-Know-Who?"

"Well, I still don't really trust him, but I suppose we have to accept him as an ally now," Hermione said in resignation. "By the way—" she looked at Ginny sharply "—what happened with you and Zabini? I heard from Malfoy that he kissed you."

"He did, but things have happened since then."

Harry gave them both an amused smile and stepped back. "I'll leave you two to discuss your girl-talk."

"Night, Harry," Ginny said cheerfully.

Hermione smiled warmly at him. "Goodnight, Harry."

Harry nodded to both of them, then walked to the boy's dormitory, leaving the girls alone. Ginny suddenly gave Hermione a very knowing glance while a playful smile tugged at her lips.

"Are my eyes deceiving me, Hermione, or are you watching our raven-haired friend a little too wistfully?"

Pink spread across Hermione's cheeks and she scratched her ear uncomfortably. "I am not! And don't try and change the subject, Ginny!"

Ginny giggled, but she decided not to embarrass her friend further. "Fine, I'll tell you what happened with Blaise."

So she explained how and when Blaise had kissed her, as well as the conversation they had had in his dorm during the party. Hermione remained silent throughout the recital, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"So what do you think?" Ginny asked once she had finished.

A frown played on Hermione's lips. "I know he does like you, Ginny. I gathered that as soon as he started asking me those weird questions about you. I didn't want you to like him though," she admitted.

"Why?" Ginny asked, genuinely curious.

She had realised by now that Hermione did not like Blaise romantically, and so was curious as to why Hermione had tried to push her away from Blaise.

"He's a Slytherin." Hermione shrugged and gave a tired sigh. "I just didn't want you to get hurt. You know his reputation better than I do. Besides," she added as an afterthought. "You were going out with Harry."

"Well, I suppose you're right there." Ginny pulled her legs against her chest so that she was resting her chin on her knees. "I just don't know what to think. I do like him, as any girl could, but I don't think he likes me as much as he thinks he does."

"Well, if he really likes you as he says he does, then he won't let things end here."

**OOOO **

Blaise sat down at the Slytherin table the next morning in a state of barely concealed excitement. His attention was completely focussed on the Gryffindor table, searching frantically for a sight of Ginny. Draco, too, found his attention wandering along the row of seats set under the gold and crimson banners, curious to see how the impish redhead would take to the poem. He knew Blaise had already sent it, and even though it was written under his friend's name, Draco couldn't help but hope she would like the poem.

"There she is!" Blaise remarked.

Draco followed his friend's gaze and spotted the familiar red hair swinging to and fro as the littlest Weasley made her way to her favourite seat. She sat down and started talking to Hermione while the other Gryffindors shot her suspicious and hateful glances. She did not appear perturbed by this and continued talking in her cheery way as she started piling food on her plate.

The owls soared through the windows and swooped down to deposit letters and packages here and there throughout the hall. Draco could see Blaise half-standing in order to get a better look at Ginny's reaction.

"Calm down before you wet yourself," Draco scolded.

But he too found his eyes involuntary looking at Ginny as a single letter fluttered down to her plate. He saw her chestnut eyes widen as she picked up the letter and gazed at the blank envelope. A frown descended on her lips, then her dainty fingers slipped the parchment apart and she was reading the poem.

"Do you think she likes it?" Blaise asked eagerly.

"Shh!" Draco snapped.

He watched intently as Ginny placed the letter back down on the table with an odd sort of smile on her face. She looked across the room, meeting Draco's eyes briefly for a moment before moving on to Blaise. Slowly, the odd smile turned into a broad grin and she nodded her head.

"Yes!" Blaise shouted.

Without preamble, he stood up and ran over to Ginny with a boyish smile on his face. The whole hall watched curiously, Draco included, as Blaise picked Ginny up in his arms and kissed her full on the lips.

"Well, that was completely unexpected," Draco heard Pansy mutter to Daphne Greengrass.

Her sentiments seemed to be shared by everyone else in the hall. The teachers couldn't believe their eyes, most of the students were staring with their mouths half open or else muttering furiously like bees, and the Gryffindors looked as if they had swallowed a vial of Bubotuber pus. Only Harry and Hermione appeared unmoved – Ron having stood up with a threatening war-cry and was now being restrained by three boys.

Draco himself was unsure what to think. On the one hand, his best friend was kissing the girl he liked; on the other, Ginny obviously liked the poem enough to change her mind about rejecting Blaise. It was a sort of twisted sense of pride and dejectedness.

Still, he did not have the stomach to watch Blaise and Ginny play happy couple, so Draco stood up and left the hall. Ginny was far too absorbed in kissing Blaise to notice Draco's abrupt departure, but after a while her lungs started protesting at the lack of oxygen and she was forced to pull her lips away.

"That poem is beautiful," she whispered with a shy smile on her lips.

Blaise grinned and folded a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I told you I liked you."

Her eyes crinkled into a smile. "I didn't realise how much until I read that poem." She hugged him suddenly, resting her face against his chest. "I'm sorry for doubting you."

"So you should be," he responded, wrapping his arms around her. "I had a hard time trying to figure out how to prove the depth of my feelings, I can tell you that."

She lifted her face back to look at him. His eyes were dancing playfully, and that flirty, almost cheeky, smile was playing on his lips. He really was so very handsome, and she couldn't believe that he was all hers.

"You don't need to rub it in," she said, trying for stern but failing miserably.

He grinned and tweaked one of her red locks, but then his eyes grew more serious and a much tenderer smile came to his lips. "You don't know how happy you've made me, Ginny."

"Maybe you could show me?" she murmured, smiling suggestively at him.

The playful gleam once more crept into his eyes, and Blaise took her hand in his and led her out of the Great Hall. He knew he'd have to thank Draco later, but right now he was willing to enjoy his time with Ginny.

Of course, though Blaise was normally quite a perceptive boy, it did not occur to him that perhaps Draco was in love with Ginny. In fact, the thought had never crossed his brain. He simply thought that Draco was good at writing poems and thought no more of it. If he had known, however, that Draco did like the cheeky redhead, the happy bubble inside him would have burst very quickly from guilt. But since he didn't know, he was able to look across at the impish girl next to him and smile in contentment.

**OOOO **

It was evening now. The sky looked like a child had come along and smeared different coloured pastels over blue paper, with the pinks, orange and purples all swirling through it in no particular pattern. It seemed fitting that such a pretty sky should be looking over Ginny as she once more read the poem, hungrily taking in the romantic words that had captured her heart:

_Beauty is a fading name, _

_And one I would not use._

_She is no wilting flower,_

_No fragile blossom yet to bloom._

_Strong but sweet is she with simple grace,_

_Untamed and spirited with an impish face._

_She is a witch of mischief, and always fair,_

_Beauty would do her no justice here._

_A pampered goddess would enslave all in her path,_

_But my impish queen is humble of heart. _

_With a crown of titian adorning her head,_

_She lights the world with her spirit instead._

_And at her feet I would worship her for all time,_

_If it meant I could see her smile and call her mine._

Ginny looked down at the bottom of the parchment where the words "Ginevra, this is all the proof I can give to you. My heart is yours if you will have it" were inscribed.

She sighed in a way only a true romantic would understand and clutched the parchment to her breast. Suddenly, she heard the sound of feet crunching on gravel, and looked around to see who was walking in the courtyard. Spotting Draco's tall frame, she waved happily at him with a broad smile on her lips. He caught her gaze and paused slightly, almost hesitantly, before slowly making his way over.

"I haven't seen you since breakfast," Ginny said by way of greeting. "Can you believe that Blaise kissed me in front of everyone?"

Draco gave her a rather weak smile and sat down next to her on the bench. He was not even looking at her, but instead stared intently at the lake. By his stiff posture and closed expression, she almost felt like he was pushing her away, but then she decided it was probably nothing. It was true that his silence was a little daunting, but she couldn't help but feel the need to share some of her feelings with him.

"I wasn't sure if I wanted to go out with him, to be honest," Ginny confided softly, staring down at her hands resting in her lap.

She thought she saw Draco stir next to her out of the corner of her eye, but he still remained just as silent as he was before.

"I was unsure about my own feelings – unsure about his." A small smile crept onto her lips and her eyes softened into a light chestnut. "Then I read the poem he wrote and I knew that his feelings were real. There's no way anyone could write that and not mean it, right?"

"Right," Draco said emptily, still gazing at the lake.

He was the one who had written that poem, but could he tell her that? The thought was absurd. She would probably laugh at him, or maybe she would get angry at him. It was better just to remain silent on the matter.

"Is something wrong, Draco?"

He shook his head and abruptly stood up. "I've got to go. I have to meet Pansy."

"Oh." Ginny's brow creased slightly and the smile faded in her eyes. "Are you getting back with her, then?"

In truth, Draco had not thought about it; he'd just said Pansy's name because it happened to be the first that had come to his head. However, the thought of Ginny going out with Blaise and being stuck as the third wheel was not his idea of fun, so he nodded his head.

"Yeah. I hope so anyway. So, uh, I've got to go."

"Oh," Ginny repeated in the same flat voice. "Well, um, okay. Good luck."

"Yeah."

Draco stood there feeling a little awkward, then finally gave her a muttered goodbye before walking off back to the castle. He had a girl to make up with, after all, and he just hoped Pansy would take him.


	16. Plots and More Plots

**Plots and More Plots**

It is a strange thing that when a girl finds love, she immediately feels like everyone else has to as well. This was true for Ginny Weasley who, having found a happy relationship with her boyfriend, Blaise Zabini, decided it also befell on her to find love for her two good friends, Harry and Hermione. She thought she was quite the genius for making the whole situation simpler by putting them together, and after seeing them so cosy on the couch together, felt it was the perfect match anyway.

"Now I just need to find Draco," she muttered while scouring the hallways for a sign of his luminescent head.

Why was she looking for Draco exactly? Well, Ginny had the brilliant idea to get him to help her bring the happy (or maybe not so happy) couple together. It didn't even occur to her to ask her boyfriend for help, who was far more likely to agree to the scheme, but then Ginny never had been a particularly practical girl. In her mind, Draco was the only logical person to go to, but ask her why this was the case and she would be unable to answer. Call it natural instinct – or perhaps an unconscious desire to annoy the blond-haired Slytherin through any means possible. In any case, he was the only one for the job, and she wouldn't give him a choice about it.

After an hour of walking about the castle fruitlessly, Ginny decided to search the grounds. She spotted Crabbe and Goyle and hailed them over with a wave, hoping that they perhaps would know of her friend's whereabouts.

"Have either of you seen Draco?" she asked.

"He was practising Quidditch the last time I saw him," Crabbe replied, gesturing towards the pitch.

Goyle picked his nose rather unsubtly and gave her a trollish smile.

Removing her eyes from the offending sight, Ginny looked at the Quidditch pitch and wondered why she had not thought to look there sooner. Of course he would be practising at the pitch. He did like Quidditch, after all.

Ginny sighed at her own stupidity, thanked the two boys, then walked to the pitch. She couldn't see Draco anywhere in the stands or up in the sky, so she made her way to the changing rooms to see if he was in there.

"Draco!" she called, bursting through the door.

She got a brief glimpse of Draco pulling on his pants before he spun around to look at her in surprise. His hair was still wet and clinging to his face, and there were beads of water trickling down his bare chest, creating a rather tantalising picture. Ginny idly wondered why it was that his body looked so much sexier when she was staring at him from her own. She also wondered why it was that she couldn't stop staring, or why she had the mad desire to lick her lips.

"Can I help you?" he asked in mild amusement, zipping up his pants, though he still looked somewhat confused as to why she was even in the changing room with him.

Shaken from the trance that his body had created, Ginny blinked and looked at him in a slightly dazed that told all too well how much she had been paying attention what he was actually saying.

"Huh?"

He laughed and began towel-drying his hair. Clearly, he had realised that she had been staring at him, much to her embarrassment. She always did manage to make a fool of herself around him, and it seemed to be worse now that she was back in her body.

"Well, you did just barge into the Slytherin changing room, calling my name," Draco explained. "I assume, then, that there is something you want to ask me."

"Oh, yeah." Ginny nodded and tried to not stare at his chest as he threw on a loose shirt. "I, um, wanted to ask a favour of you."

He started doing up the buttons on his shirt, and a faint crease formed between his eyebrows as he pondered over her words. Ginny was finding it rather difficult to think herself, though why this was the case, she was unsure. Draco was just Draco, and he was with Pansy anyway. He was off limits, and she should not be thinking of him like that.

She suddenly remembered Blaise and almost felt like slapping herself. How was it even possible that she could forget him? It was all Draco's fault. Him and that damn fine body of his that made all thoughts of any other boys fly out the window.

_Curse you, Draco, and your stupid, sexy body._

Draco's jaw went oddly slack and he stared at her with what looked like amusement and confusion mixed into one. She felt a sickly jolt of foreboding go through her stomach and then her cheeks started heating horribly.

"I didn't say that out loud, did I?" she asked in a small, embarrassed voice.

Draco nodded his head, and a small smile fastened on his lips. "Yeah, you did."

If Ginny's cheeks had been red before, they were flaming now. She would have done anything to go back in time to change what she had just said, or maybe she should just run away and not talk to him for a while. It would be too much to hope that someone as egotistical as Draco Malfoy would let this opportunity pass.

"I didn't mean to say that," Ginny mumbled, staring down at her feet in abject humiliation.

"But you were thinking it," he taunted.

She chanced a glance up at him and saw the smirk gracing his handsome face. That was the icing on the cake for her, and, judging by the hot feeling spreading over her body, she was sure she must look positively beetroot by now.

"Well . . ."

She trailed off, not really sure what excuse she could make. Really, there was nothing she could do about it. He now knew that she thought he was sexy, and she had been stupid enough to admit it after she had just been completely transfixed by his body.

He walked languidly towards her, invading her personal space as his tall figure towered over her. She instinctively began moving backwards as he continued to walk, not quite sure what it was that he wanted from her. There was a secretive gleam in his silver eyes that was making her feel rather uncomfortable.

Her back hit the wall, and she stared up at his face in alarm, her heart thudding hard against her ribs. Warning bells echoed in her mind for her to move, but she found she could not. It was as if her feet had been glued to the ground. Draco smiled lazily down at her and placed an arm against the wall above her head, leaning down so he could meet her wide eyes more easily. Their proximity was a little too close for comfort, and she dropped her gaze to his chest where his smooth, marble-like skin peeped out from the open shirt. That view was no better for her uneasy mind and, feeling even more nervous and uncomfortable, Ginny once more lifted her eyes to his face.

"W-what are you doing?"

It bothered her that she had stuttered, but she had never had to deal with Draco Malfoy like this. There was no taunting sneer, no argumentative words or scowls; he was just watching her in a way that reminded her of a cat with a pot of cream. The half smile in his eyes and lazy smirk on his face made her body rush with unknown feelings that even Blaise had never been able to inspire within her.

"Does it bother you?" he murmured, his warm breath brushing against her ear and sending tingling shocks down her spine.

"I—" She swallowed hard, feeling her blood pounding in her ears.

Merlin, he was so handsome. Why had she not noticed it before? Even when in his body, she had never noticed how damn attractive he was. That lazy smile was enough to make her weak at the knees, and the burning intensity in those amazingly grey eyes of his seemed to sear right into her skin as they flickered over her.

"Yes?" he prompted, allowing his free hand to glide gently up her arm.

She almost shivered in pleasure at the contact and met his eyes wildly, surprise and confusion passing over her face. Why was she feeling so out of control? It was just Draco! Draco who was acting sexily seductive and giving her thoughts that her mother and her boyfriend would be very unhappy to know about. She had to stop this before it got out of hand, but her teenage hormones were making that very difficult right now. Damn it! She had not come here to be seduced by her friend; she had come here to make him help her match-make Harry and Hermione together. What the hell was he playing at?

"Don't," Ginny said far more sternly than she felt.

This was not right. It wasn't even fair. He was with Pansy and she was with Blaise. She didn't understand why he was doing this to her.

He laughed suddenly and pulled back, and she could see the mocking amusement glinting in his grey eyes. "You didn't think I'd actually kiss you, did you?"

She stared at him in stunned silence for a moment, and then her hands clenched into fists. "YOU JERK!" she screeched, kicking him hard in the leg, and had the distinct satisfaction of hearing him let out a yelp of pain.

He scowled at her dreadfully as he rubbed his leg where her shoe had connected. "Why'd you do that, you crazy wench?"

"Because—" she hit him in the chest angrily. "It—" hit "—was—" hit "—not—" hit "—funny!"

"Stop hitting me!" he growled in annoyance, grabbing her tight against him so that her arms were locked against her sides.

She struggled for a moment and, finding she was unable to break free from his grasp, glared at him furiously while panting for breath. "I can't believe you, Draco Malfoy! I can't believe you would play such a dirty trick!"

"Oh, stop being so morally righteous," Draco retorted exasperatedly. "You're not hurt, and I only did it to get back at you for staring at me before. Honestly, Weasley, did you really think that I would try to seduce you? You're dating my best friend!"

She scowled. "Do you mind letting me go?"

Draco obliged, and Ginny quickly stepped back from him. It may have been nothing to him, but to her it was painfully humiliating. She could not forget the feelings he had aroused in her, and that confusion only made her all the more irritable – even to the point where she forgot all about her scheme to make him help her match-make Harry and Hermione.

"I'm leaving!" she declared haughtily, turning her nose up at him in an attempt at being dignified, but only looked childish and sulky.

Draco merely gestured to the door, saying nothing. Harrumphing at his lack of retort, Ginny swept out of the changing rooms and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

"That didn't go too well," Draco commented to himself, but a small smile was playing on his lips.

He had not been blind to Ginny's reaction and was feeling rather smug at the knowledge that she was not so against him after all. The idea to play with her feelings like that had come to him through sheer inspiration. She obviously found him attractive, and now he just needed to figure out if she truly liked him. Of course, she had fallen in love with his poem, but Draco didn't like the idea of relying on that to see whether she liked him or not. Words were just words, no matter how deep they had stemmed from his heart. He wanted her to love him for who he was, not because he could turn words into pretty phrases.

There was the problem of her going out with Blaise, which was made even worse since he was the one who had helped them come together, but Draco was not a Slytherin for nothing. There was only so long that he could sit back and let the girl he loved go with his friend. Pansy was good for distraction, but she was not the girl he loved. Ginny was the one he wanted, and she was the one he would make sure he had by his side. He just had to figure out a way for her to dump Blaise without making it look suspicious on him.

"But first I need to know if she likes me," Draco mumbled, frowning to himself.

This would take all of his genius to figure out, but he needed to know.

An idea drifted into his head – an evil, manipulative idea that was truly Slytherin. The frown on his lips faded, becoming more of a smirk, and that same half-smile crept into his eyes. He knew what he had to do now, and while he did feel slightly bad for using Pansy, all was fair in love and war, and right now he was willing to pay any cost to get the girl he loved.

**OOOO **

After Ginny had left the changing room, she had gone for a very long walk around the lake to help her cool down. She was still furious with Draco, and even more so at herself. How could she have let him humiliate her like that? That arrogant, stuck-up jerk was asking for a Bat-Bogey hex – that is if she could bring herself to face him again.

She was so embarrassed. So furious! He had become one of her closest friends during these past weeks, but now she found herself unable to even look at him the same way she had used to. The easy comradeship she had with him seemed to be slipping right through her fingers. How could she possibly joke with him like she used to? How could she even think to start their friendly bantering without remembering the way his mere proximity had made her belly do somersaults as good as a world gymnast? It was impossible.

Ginny let out an angry growl and flopped down on the ground in a huff. She tugged at the grass and scowled at the lake where the giant squid could be seen lounging in the shallows. It was just like Draco to do something like this. He'd have thought it was a real good joke to play with her emotions that way, but she had not found it funny at all. It had all been a little too much for her to take lightly, and now she could not stop thinking about him.

"This is just ridiculous," she muttered exasperatedly to herself. "You don't like him; it was just your hormones playing tricks on you. It's only 'cause he's handsome. Blaise is far better anyway, and he's not so annoying and arrogant . . ."

Blaise was the one who had written her the poem. He loved her, but Draco had just been toying with her. Draco didn't even care about her, so why was she even bothering to waste her breath or her time thinking about him?

"Oh, who am I kidding?" she moaned. "I have no idea what I want and I never have."

She placed her head in her hands, mentally berating herself for every thought she had of a certain blond-haired Slytherin.

"You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of madness."

Ginny jumped and looked around in fright. She spotted Blaise walking towards her and inwardly sighed. "Yeah, well sometimes I like to rage to myself," she muttered mutinously.

He smiled and took a seat next to her on the grass. "What's wrong?"

Ginny exhaled noisily and fell back against the grass, staring up at the bright blue sky where fluffy clouds chugged past like marshmallow trains. It was just her luck to have Blaise come to her now and demand to know what was wrong. Life really was very unfair sometimes.

"It's nothing," she responded wearily. "I'm just having a bad day that's all."

Blaise's eyes filled with concern as he gazed down at her. "You're lying. I know something is upsetting you."

Ginny shook her head. She could never tell Blaise what had happened. To tell him would be to admit that her feelings had been thrown into doubt and that Draco had tried to seduce her – even if it was just as a joke.

He leaned over her, his amber eyes meeting hers searchingly. She felt like he was trying to read her mind and ridiculously felt like closing her eyes so that he could not see the truth.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

She nodded and leaned up to kiss him softly on the lips. "I'm fine."

**OOOO **

It had taken every bit of self-persuasion and humbling to make Draco look for the person he was searching for right now. She was the only one who could help him, and while previous experiences had allowed them to have at least some semblance of a friendship, he was quite serious when he said that nothing could prevail upon him to ever truly be friends with Hermione Granger.

He spotted what looked like her bushy brown hair sticking up over a pile of books and slowly made his way over, thinking it was just like her to be in the library. She really was so very predictable.

"Granger, I want a word."

Honey brown eyes peeped up over the books and glared at him. "Don't you have any manners, Malfoy? I'm not going to talk to you at all if you're going to be so demanding."

Draco rolled his eyes and sat down at her table, moving some of the stacks of books aside so he could see her face. She looked tired and stressed. No doubt she had been studying for hours.

"Well, you look like you're in need of a break, so you might as well listen to what I've got to say," Draco responded, unmoved by her snappishness. "I think it might interest you anyway."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Really? And what could you have to say that could possibly interest me?"

Draco played with a corner of one of the books, his expression stoic. "You remember at the Weasleys' home when you asked me if I liked Ginny?"

He thought he saw her expression flicker with surprise, but she admirably kept her face bland from emotion. He was satisfied that he had caught her attention though, and knew now that all he had to do was play his cards right to get her to help him.

"I do, but what has that got to do with anything?"

"You were right," he stated bluntly.

She really did look surprised then: her eyes widened to saucers and her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. "You what? But—"

"Listen," Draco said firmly, cutting short her spluttering. "I came to you because I need your help. Ginny is dating Blaise and thinks she's in love with him because of the love poem, but he wasn't even the one that wrote that poem."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked, rather dazed.

Her mind was frantically trying to take in everything that was being said, but it seemed she was still stuck on the 'I like Ginny' part.

"I'm saying that _I_ was the one who wrote that poem on behalf of Blaise, and it was then that I realised I liked her. But now I'm in a bit of a fix, aren't I? Because I helped my friend get Ginny, and now it would be pretty bad on my part to turn around and break them up just because I like her too."

"What do you want me to do about it? I can't break them up either, and how do you know Ginny doesn't really like Blaise?"

Draco sighed and ran an exasperated hand through his hair – something he never did. "That's what I need your help with. I need you to help me figure out who it is she actually likes. You're her friend, aren't you? Surely you can get her to confide in you?"

Hermione frowned and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I suppose I could, but I don't understand why you don't just tell her that you wrote the poem. I'm sure she'd believe you."

"I doubt it," Draco muttered sceptically. "Besides, I don't want her to like me because of that poem. Words on a paper don't make people fall in love, and they shouldn't. It's just a clichéd ideal otherwise."

"You really like her then?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah, and it's driving me nuts. I still don't know how I can like her. She really is so annoying half the time."

Hermione laughed at that. "Well, I guess I can help you. I may not like you that much, Malfoy, and I know you can be a complete idiot sometimes, but I have to admit that I trust you more than Blaise. I have a feeling he will break her heart if this continues."

"I'm flattered," Draco responded in some amusement. "You're the queen of compliments, Granger."

She smiled and shrugged. "You should know more than anyone else that you're not exactly the ideal boy for a girl like Ginny Weasley."

"Now there you are wrong," Draco answered with his own smirk. "I'm the only boy that could handle Ginny Weasley."

"We'll see."

Draco stood up and stretched slightly, smothering a yawn as he glanced once more at the pile of books towering over her. "Don't push yourself too hard, Granger. We all know you're going get first place in the year anyway."

Hermione's eyes bugged open and her mouth went slack at the unexpected compliment, but Draco was already leaving the library. She frowned as she watched him go and wondered just what would come of all this. It was clear that he liked Ginny, but she did know that Blaise also liked Ginny.

"How odd that both of them should come to me," she mumbled to herself.

"Was that Malfoy just then?"

Hermione turned her face and her lips relaxed into a warm smile as she spotted Harry. They had been spending more time with each other ever since he and Ginny had broken up, for Ron was often with Luna.

"Yes, he was just asking me a favour."

Harry laughed. "It seems that miracles will never cease. Things sure have changed since Ginny and Malfoy switched bodies."

"I know."

She stared at her hands, realising just how much things had changed. So many new romances and friendships had blossomed, but it was with a heavy heart that she realised she was still alone. Love seemed like such a far away thing to her, like something that could only be found in fairy tales.

"What are you thinking about?" Harry asked as he sat down in Draco's now unoccupied seat.

Hermione raised her eyes to his face, meeting his warm, emerald gaze. There was such a gentle aura about him, something she had always loved. He had a way of making her feel so comfortable and secure. At one time, she had thought she loved him, but then he had gone with Ginny and she had pushed her feelings for him to a forgotten area of her heart, giving up all hope in ever being with the reluctant hero that was her best friend. Those feelings had never died though; they lingered on inside her as a constant reminder of what she had never dared to confess.

"It's just," she said slowly, "with everyone finding love, it sort of reminds me what I don't have. I've . . . I've always been alone."

Harry placed a hand on her arm and smiled kindly at her. "You'll find love someday, Hermione. You deserve it."

"Thank you, Harry."

_I just wish it were with you._


	17. Food for Thought

**Food for Thought**

True to her word, Hermione did corner Ginny the next day in the hopes of getting some insight as to who it was that her spirited friend liked. Ginny, of course, was completely unaware of the plots being made against her and felt understandably irritated that Hermione should question her about her feelings for Blaise.

"Hermione, I don't see why you're asking me this," Ginny said tiredly. "I already told you I like him."

"I know you _said_ you like him, but, Ginny, can you honestly tell me that you would have accepted him had he not written that poem?"

Ginny's brow creased into a frown. "But he did write the poem."

Now Hermione was in a sticky situation and found herself quite at a loss what to do. She knew very well that she could not tell Ginny that Draco had written the poem—he not wanting her to being the main reason. In fact, he didn't even want her to let on that he really liked Ginny.

"Well, let's say he didn't," Hermione responded. "Would you still like him?"

Ginny sighed and settled herself more comfortably on the couch, propping her chin on her hands. "Okay, he didn't write the poem then. What's left? Um, he's funny, handsome, is a good kisser . . ." She broke off and gave Hermione a shrug. "Sounds good enough to me."

"Ginny, you're not taking this very seriously."

Ginny rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. She didn't want to be having this conversation right now. She'd already had her feelings thrown into doubt, and having Hermione prod her emotions like a Muggle scientist prodding experiments was not helping.

"Fine, fine," Ginny sighed. "In all honesty, I don't really know. Blaise is wonderful, and I do like him, but if he hadn't written that poem I probably would not have said yes. Satisfied?"

Hermione said nothing. Ginny sat up and stared at her friend with a suspicious glance. It was odd that Hermione should ask her these things, for she never did ask her about boys unless there was a specific reason for it.

"Why are you so interested anyway?" Ginny demanded.

"I'm just worried for you."

Ginny didn't believe her. Something fishy was going on.

Hermione paused for a moment and then needlessly smoothed her school skirt – a sure sign that she was getting nervous.

"What do you think of Draco?"

Ginny's jaw dropped. Whatever she had been expecting to come out of her friend's mouth, it definitely was not that.

"Why?" she asked sharply, wondering darkly why Hermione would ask her that.

"Well, don't you think he's good-looking?"

Ginny felt her cheeks heat in spite of herself and looked away in embarrassment. "I suppose."

It was not in her to lie about such matters, and she knew it would be pointless to do so anyway. Her blush had already given her away.

Hermione took courage at this confession and decided to plough on in her interrogation. "He's not really so bad once you get to know him either, don't you think?"

"No, he's not so bad. . ."

_When he's not trying to seduce innocent females._

Ginny stared at her friend with a sharpness that rarely presented itself on her face. "Where is all of this leading, Hermione? I've had you interrogate me about a boy before and came to the conclusion that you liked him. Please don't tell me you have a thing for Malfoy of all people?"

For some reason that idea disturbed her even more than the thought that Hermione had liked Blaise. Ginny wasn't so deluded to think that it was because she wanted Hermione with Harry, either.

"No, I don't like Malfoy," Hermione retorted with a barely repressed shudder. "I was just curious as to what you thought of him."

Ginny sighed and flopped back against the couch. "I don't know why you're asking me this. Why Malfoy?"

"Maybe because you seem fond of him." Hermione leaned forward, her expression serious. "Ginny, haven't you noticed how different your relationship with him is?"

"It's because we're friends!" Ginny insisted, but even to her own ears it sounded like she was grasping at straws.

She was very aware of how different she and Draco treated each other, and more than once she had recognised the telltale signs of flirting on her part. But he was Draco and she was Ginny; the two just did not go together.

"Do you tell yourself that because you don't want to believe there could be something more, or do you tell yourself that because you really believe it?"

Ginny frowned, then her eyes suddenly locked on Hermione's. "Did he set you up to this?"

"W-what?"

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. She had never been a good liar.

"I said, did he set you up to this? I know him, I know what he's like, and I know that he would take immense enjoyment in getting you to think that he liked me, or for me to think I like him, and then in the end he would just laugh at my face and tell me that he would never dream of dating me in a million years, or some such stuff."

Hermione's expression became a lot more scrutinising. "Sounds to me like you're speaking from experience."

"That's because I am," Ginny muttered darkly.

She proceeded to tell Hermione about what had happened in the changing room, realising that to hold it in any longer would be nigh impossible. By the end of the embarrassing tale, Hermione had a secretive smile on her face that Ginny did not like. On demanding to know what was so funny, Ginny felt even more irritated when Hermione said that it was impossible not to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"Yeah, well I don't particularly find it very amusing," Ginny muttered. "He was a complete jerk."

"But that proves my point, don't you think?" Hermione pointed out reasonably.

"And what's that?" Ginny snapped, folding her arms crossly against her chest.

"That you're not so against him as you think you are."

Ginny opened and closed her mouth wordlessly, completely at a loss on what to say. It wasn't possible. So maybe she thought the smarmy git was sexy, and maybe she did like his arrogant ways sometimes, and his smirk wasn't _always_ annoying – quite endearing sometimes, actually – and . . .

"Oh, no!" Ginny exclaimed dramatically as she realised what her treacherous thoughts were saying. "I really do like him."

Hermione gave a triumphant smile, but Ginny was too caught up in her own horrible epiphany to do more than stare at the ground in shock. This was not supposed to happen. She liked Blaise. She liked her boyfriend. She was not supposed to like Draco Malfoy.

"I've got to go," Ginny mumbled, and hurriedly left the room.

Her thoughts jumbled chaotically in her brain as she tried to make sense of the situation she now found herself in, and her eyebrows were drawn so alarmingly close together that they were almost one straight line. Feverish mutterings issued from her mouth, but no one hearing them would have been able to make any sense of it. The only thing they would gather was the word "Draco" and occasionally "git" — not a particularly fond adjective for the boy she liked, to be sure.

Ginny sighed and leant her face against the wall. She thought it was just her luck to like someone like Draco. Why did she have to think his eyes wonderfully amazing to look at, or feel such a warm sense of comfort whenever he was around? Even when he had been trying to tease her by being seductive she had only felt exhilaration at the thought of what might happen. That was a sure sign that she at least felt something for him, but she wasn't kidding herself in thinking that it was just lust. There was so much more to it than that.

"Why do I have to like him?" she moaned to no one in particular, feeling the helplessness of her situation hit her hard.

He was her friend, he was her boyfriend's best friend, and she liked him. This could not possibly end well.

Ginny slid down the wall, hugging her knees, and blew strands of hair away from her face as she searched her muddled feelings. Blaise was sweet, charming, handsome, and always had time for her. Draco, on the other hand, was often rude to the point of being annoying, spoilt, arrogant, pessimistic, complaining . . .

She shook her head and laughed to herself. What could she possibly see in him? He was a horrible person, really, and yet—and yet she had caught glimpses of gentleness in him. She had seen tenderness in the smallest of his smiles; warmth did sometimes exist in his normally cold grey eyes; his touch could be reassuring and comforting, and his words had long-since lost their sharp, hurtful quality. There was beauty to be found in him if one were willing to search for it, and she realised that, in the end, even his faults were loveable in their own way.

Her eyes softened as she relaxed the tight grip she had one her knees. "I really do like him."

"Like who?"

Ginny's heart leapt in fright, and she quickly turned her face to see Pansy standing in front of her, one dark eyebrow raised and a smile lurking on her lips.

"Jittery, are we?" Pansy teased.

Ginny blushed slightly and shook her head, then stood up quickly off the ground. "You just gave me a fright, that's all."

Pansy laughed and pushed the strands of black hair away from her face. "Sorry. So what were you muttering about to yourself anyway? You seemed pretty deep in thought."

Ginny twisted the bottom of her shirt around her fingers. It wouldn't be very wise of her to say she had just been having romantic thoughts about Pansy's boyfriend. No, that would not be wise at all.

"I was just thinking." Ginny shrugged. "You know how it is."

Judging by Pansy's raised eyebrow, she obviously didn't, but then her face broke into a sunny smile and she waved at someone behind them. Ginny frowned and turned to see who Pansy was waving at, and her stomach dropped when she saw Draco walking towards them. He looked particularly handsome today, but maybe that was just her newly-discovered feelings adding a better light to him.

"Hi, Pansy," he murmured, leaning down to give the dark-haired Slytherin a surprisingly sweet kiss on the lips.

Ginny wanted desperately to look away, but she couldn't help but watch in unconscious envy as the boy she liked wrapped an arm around the tall girl's waist as he kissed her. He pulled back and smiled down at his girlfriend.

"Hi," Pansy said just as softly, leaning her face against his chest.

It was obvious to Ginny that the two had resolved their past issues and were now happy together. She felt horrible to know that in a way she wished they hadn't. After all, it was not like she was ready to throw away Blaise to be with Draco, but she did selfishly wish that he didn't have anyone. If he couldn't be with her, he couldn't be with anyone.

Draco turned to look at Ginny, and there was a distinctly amused gleam in his eyes. "Still angry with me, Weasley?"

Pansy looked at Ginny in confusion, who blushed. She stared back at her boyfriend with a sharp look.

"Why would she be angry at you?" Pansy demanded. "What did you do to her?"

"It was nothing," Ginny said hurriedly, knowing that it was very possible Draco might tell the sharp-eyed Slytherin what had happened. He always was so unpredictable, and she didn't need any more embarrassment today.

A slow smile curled his lips that made Ginny feel oddly mushy inside. Merlin, he was going to be the end of her at this rate. Now that she knew she liked him, it was impossible to be around him. It didn't help her jealous nature to see him with his arms all over Pansy Parkinson either.

"It didn't seem like nothing yesterday," Draco taunted. "I've still got the bruise to show for it."

That soon snapped her out of her mushy feelings, and Ginny gave him a warning glare. He was getting far too much amusement at her expense.

"Shut up, Malfoy."

Pansy's eyes flashed irritably. "Will someone _please_ tell me what's going on?"

"No," they both said in unison, their eyes locked on each other with alarming intensity.

Ginny's glare would have rivalled a basilisk's right now, but it was hard for her to tell what was making her angrier: the fact that Draco was teasing her again, or the fact that he was holding onto Pansy.

"Tut, tut, Weasley," he drawled. "What have I told you about that temper?"

Ginny's hands clenched into fists. She would have loved nothing more than to rip into him with every insult she could think of. It didn't matter if she liked him or not. Right now he was being a real pain in the arse.

He seemed to understand her feelings, for he laughed softly and tightened his hold on Pansy's waist. "Weasley's obviously still trying to determine whether to hate me or not." He smirked at Ginny, and then his face relaxed into a smile as he gazed down at Pansy. "Let's just leave her to it."

"Well, okay," Pansy agreed, though she still looked confused. "See you around, Weasley."

Ginny watched the handsome blond smirk at her once more before he led Pansy off down the hallway. Once they were out of sight, she let out a strangled curse and stomped off the other way. He was so annoying! So very annoying, and handsome, and damn-well going to drive her insane!

**OOOO**

Hermione found Draco later that day sitting with Crabbe and Goyle in the quad. As usual, she was struck by the vast difference in size and intelligence between the boys. Draco, naturally, was working on homework, but Crabbe and Goyle we're trying to see who would be knocked out first if they kept smacking their heads together.

She shook her head in slight exasperation at the sheer stupidity of the Slytherin oafs and decided it would be best to remove the duo from this conversation, which was achieved nicely by fabricating summons from Blaise Zabini. Once the two boys had left, Hermione sat down next to Draco and gave him a small smile.

"Well, I talked with her," she said by way of greeting.

Draco, who had watched the whole episode with an amused expression on his face, placed down his quill and looked at her with sudden intensity.

"And?"

Hermione made a show of smoothing down her skirt and getting rid of a speck of imaginary dust on her blouse. Draco's irritation grew, as he knew that she was doing it on purpose just to keep him in suspense. Finally, when he was just about to say something cutting, she looked back up at him with a much broader grin on her face.

"I think that you can safely say she likes you."

At first, Draco was unsure if he had heard her correctly, but then Hermione's words finally registered to his brain and he felt a wave of relief wash over him. Of course, this didn't mean that everything was perfect between him and Ginny, but he did not doubt his ability to smooth things over. He hoped.

"You're sure about this?" he asked, wanting to make sure there were no guessing games going on.

Hermione nodded her head and her eyes twinkled in a way that reminded him horribly of Dumbledore.

"Positive. She's never been good at hiding her emotions. All I had to do was bring up your name and she was blushing like one thing." Her lips twitched into a smile. "By the way, what you did in the changing rooms was not very nice. Funny, but not nice."

Draco shrugged. He knew it had been a rather mercenary thing to do, but all was fair in love and war, even if it was Ginny herself he had to battle with.

"It worked, didn't it?"

"I don't question the result," Hermione allowed, "but I admit the method was perhaps not as tasteful as one could have hoped. She is very angry and hurt by what you did, I hope you know. Yes, you may have forced her to think of you in a way that she previously hadn't, but you've also made her distrust you where she perhaps might have."

A frown settled on his face as he remembered the hurt that had shone through Ginny's eyes when he had told her he would not have kissed her. He sighed and played with a blade of grass.

"I know," he said quietly. "It was the only thing I could think of, though. She was so caught up in Blaise that nothing would have snapped her out of her delusions."

"You think they're just delusions then? You think that she doesn't like Blaise?"

He nodded his head. "She is in love with the poem, but deep down she only cares for Blaise as a friend."

"How do you know?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Because I know what I feel for Ginny, and there is no room for thoughts of any other girl," he said frankly. "If she truly loved Blaise, she would not have stayed in that room with me. She would have left, and she would have thought nothing more about it."

"So what do you plan to do now?"

Draco thought about all that he had learnt and all that he could do. He had already used Pansy to see whether Ginny would get jealous, and though he had planned to do more in that respect, it went against the grain to hurt his childhood friend anymore. It was time to let her go before she got too attached to him. Repercussions were in order – that was inescapable – but he hoped everything would not crumble underneath him yet. He still needed Ginny to accept him, after all.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "There are still obstacles that need to be removed."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Slytherins were all the same. Everything was just obstacles and plots.

"Have you thought of just telling Ginny the truth?" Hermione suggested.

"What, and have her get angry at me for plotting against her?"

She shook her head. "You don't need to tell her about that. Just tell her that you like her."

"I can't do that."

"Sure you can. It's just a matter of walking up to her and telling her how you feel."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "You're one to talk. How long has it been since you've had feelings for Potter?"

Hermione blushed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Granger, I'm a Slytherin. I notice everything if it is something I can exploit. Of course, I never got a chance to actually use that ammunition against you, but I was very much aware of your supposedly secret feelings for golden boy."

Ginny may have thought she was a genius for thinking the two should go together, but Draco had known for a long time which way the wind was blowing for Hermione Granger and Harry Potter.

"That's different," Hermione argued weakly. "Harry and I are best friends."

"Right, and Ginny and I have always had a soft spot for each other." He gave a derisive snort. "Don't kid yourself, Granger. You know just as well as I do that my going with Ginny would cause far more raised eyebrows than you going with Potter. As for that dolt, if he's too blind to catch on to your very obvious feelings, then maybe you should take your own advice and tell him. I have a feeling you're going to want to anyway," he added as an afterthought. "After what Blaise told me, it seems like Ginny is wanting to play match-maker with you two. Knowing her, she'd ruin it for both of you."

Hermione frowned. "I don't know if I can. He's never shown any sign of returning my feelings."

Draco rolled his eyes. Really the two of them were just as stupid as each other.

"Potter is a short-sighted idiot in more than one way." He saw the defensive flash in her eyes and ploughed on ahead before she could argue against him. "Look, the guy is head over heels for you—though I have no idea why—he's just too thick to realise what those feelings mean."

"You think so?"

"Yes."

For someone who was supposedly so intelligent, she sure was dense when it came to emotions.

"But what if you're wrong? What if he doesn't like me at all? He was just with Ginny before, after all."

Draco looked up at the sky for patience and wondered how it was that he had managed to play cupid for two people so undeserving and annoying.

"Think what you want, Granger. If you can't see that Potter likes you, than you're not as smart as I thought you were."

Hermione fell into silence, obviously debating over the plausibility of Draco's word, while he himself wondered what he could do now. Telling Ginny was out of the question. She was still angry with him for one thing, and dating Blaise for another.

He picked up his belongings and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked, glancing up at him.

"To break up with Pansy."

"Oh. Well, good luck."

"Yeah, thanks," Draco muttered, before walking off to confine himself to a lot of tears and tantrums.


	18. Enter the Banshee

**Enter the Banshee**

Draco had always known that telling Pansy he was breaking up with her would be a horrible experience, but he had not been expecting the tirade to go on for this long. She could really yell when she wanted to. He was sure he must have burst an eardrum by now.

It wasn't just her yelling that made him cringe, though. Her tears and pleadings were enough to drive even the bravest and most sympathetic man running to the hills. Pansy was trained in the art of crying females, and if turning on the waterworks was a class at Hogwarts, Draco was sure she would get 'Outstanding' for her performance today.

Pansy let out a fresh sob, while pathetically wringing her hands.

"How could you do this to me!"

_How many times has she said that now? Twenty?_

"Just today you were kissing me and acting like everything was perfect!"

_Well, actually that was so Ginny would get jealous . . ._

"I thought you loved me!"

Draco stared at her, completely perplexed. Not once had he suggested that he loved Pansy in any way. He may have lusted after her at one point. He may have liked her diverting comments about less fortunate people and enjoyed her company, but he had never loved her, nor hinted that he might.

He folded his arms and, in characteristic arrogance, stated idly, "You should really try not to let your imagination run away with you. I suppose it's not your fault though. Girls always do seem to assume that what they're thinking is the truth."

The tears abruptly stopped. Her eyes narrowed with a dark rage that clouded her whole face. She looked furious and, for the first time, Draco was actually worried that he might have gone too far. His tongue always did have a habit of getting him into trouble with people, but he couldn't help it. Pansy was acting ridiculous and thought that he loved her. Childhood friend she may be, but there was no excuse for a female that liked to cry and throw tantrums in order to get her way, which, in Pansy's case, just happened to be keeping him as a boyfriend.

"You heartless bastard!" Pansy screeched.

In two quick strides she was before him and raising her arm, letting her hand collide with his cheek in a powerful blow. The sound of her slap seemed to echo in Draco's head over and over. Instinctively, he raised his own hand to rub his now stinging and very red cheek.

"What did you do that for?" he exclaimed. "You know I never once said I loved you!"

Honestly, what was with females and hitting him lately? He didn't know why they had to get so offended over everything.

Her lip trembled pathetically, and Draco inwardly sighed as he realised she was pulling out the waterworks again. Didn't she realise that didn't work on him?

"You're cruel, and I hate you!" Pansy declared tearfully. "You've broken my heart, and now you can't even bring yourself to feel sorry for me! Don't you care at all how I feel?"

He tried hard not to roll his eyes. There was only so much he could handle of this any longer.

"Pansy, can't you see that we're just not meant to be together?"

"But _why_?" she responded in that horrible, whiney voice that had always aggravated him.

"Because I'm in love with Ginny!"

He hadn't meant to say it. The words had just sort of slipped out before he could stop them. It was too late to call them back now, though; the frustration and raw honesty of his words would give no credit to any lie he could create.

"_You,_ in love with _Weasley_?" Her eyes boggled in disbelief, and her mouth dropped open to give her the charming look of someone who had just been hit with a rather heavy brick.

"Well, you don't need to say it like that," Draco muttered in some exasperation.

It may be a little out of the ordinary, but they were still just two people, after all. Besides, he and Ginny had already overcome their loathing of each other, so it shouldn't really be that hard for Pansy to grasp the fact that he might love the fiery-headed Gryffindor by now.

"I just . . ." Pansy fumbled. "I mean . . ."

She blinked, and Draco noticed with some amusement that once more the tears were gone. At least his words had achieved something.

"Look, Pansy," Draco began much more gently, "I know getting back and then breaking up with you so suddenly was a stupid thing to do, and I shouldn't have done it, but I can't change that now. I thought that if I just tried to move on it would be all right, but I couldn't move on. I couldn't forget about her, and seeing her with Blaise just made me so angry that I realised it would be pointless to continue this with you."

She placed a hand on her hip and looked at him with a sharp glint in her eyes. "So you got back with me so you could forget about Weasley?"

"No, I—"

"DRACO MALFOY, YOU SODDING IDIOT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO TREAT ME LIKE ONE OF YOUR WHORES?"

"I don't have any whores," Draco responded blankly.

Girls came out with the weirdest things sometimes. Why did they always have to exaggerate everything? She was talking like he had plenty of girls on the side, when she knew very well that she was the only girl he had slept with.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!"

Draco actually felt the hairs move on his face. She obviously took great care of her lungs to expel such mind-blowing screams, and he pitied the man who would one day become her husband. It was obvious to him that she originated from banshees.

Her eyes narrowed into slits and, in that moment, she suddenly reminded him of a cheetah prowling a wounded antelope, just waiting for the right moment to rip into the weaker animal. If he made one wrong move, he was sure he would feel the full extent of her wrath. However, Draco, for all his sly, Slytherin behaviour, never did seem to know when to just shut up.

"Well, no I don't," he said frankly. "You are the only girl I've slept with, after all."

Her hands clenched into fists, and she took a great, shuddering breath. "You know what? I'm glad you dumped me! You are the most idiotic, spoilt, arrogant, cruel, hateful, spiteful, vile, annoying, jerk-like, monstrous, vindictive, conceited, vain, stuck-up, revolting, malicious . . ."

Draco's eyebrows creased together into a frown. Was she really going to continue with this long list that made absolutely no sense? Surely she was running out of ridiculously, exaggerated adjectives by now?

"Pansy—"

"I'M NOT DONE!" She took a deep breath, glared at him ferociously once more, and then continued: "Disreputable, infuriating, idiot I have ever had the misfortune to meet!"

He couldn't help but laugh. "Been studying a thesaurus lately, Pansy?"

"No," she retorted haughtily, drawing herself up to her full height. "I just wanted to make it very clear how much I hate you right now."

"Well, you certainly got your point across . . ."

_And made yourself look weird in the process._

Pansy sniffed and stared at him down her nose. "I don't even want to look at you right now, and I hope Weasley says no. You don't deserve any girl!"

"Wait, Pansy!" He walked over and grabbed her arm, earning a mighty glare from the Slytherin girl.

He quickly released her for his own safety and took a step back as he tried again to placate the wildcat still glaring at him.

"I'm sorry, all right? I really am, but don't you think it's better that I tell you the truth now instead of staying with you and pretending everything is fine and dandy?"

She sniffed again and looked the other way. "I don't care. You have no respect for me, and I hate you."

"No respect?" Draco repeated. "Merlin, Pansy, do you actually believe the rubbish you're spouting out? I care about you, all right? You're one of my best friends, but that doesn't mean I have to stay with you out of respect for you. I just don't love you. Nothing can change that. I'm in love with Weasley, and it would have only made both of us unhappy if I stayed with you."

"That's not the point. You've wounded my heart!"

"Oh, Come on, Pansy!" Draco snapped, feeling thoroughly sick of her behaviour now. "We've known each other since we were born, and I know that you're only acting this way because it'll be more interesting to tell Daphne and the others later how horrible I was to you, and what you said to put me in my place." He smiled that small, half-smile that would make any girl go a little weaker at the knees. "Let's just cut the dramatics, shall we?"

She folded her arms huffily and gave him a half-hearted glare. Obviously, she was unable to resist the arrogant charm of his smile.

"Fine," she said reluctantly, "I admit that maybe I was going a little over the top."

_A little?_

"But I am still angry at you. I do like you, Draco, and I can't just snap my fingers and immediately not be upset that you broke up with me just because you like Ginny."

"Yeah, I know, but there's not much I can do about that," Draco sighed. "I can't exactly snap my fingers and make myself like you again either, you know?"

She sighed, realising that it would be pointless to keep arguing with him, and decided to just listen to what he had to say. "Fine, I get the point. So what it is it that you want? I know there's something still on your mind or else you would have run away by now as soon as I started crying."

He shifted uncomfortably and looked at his hands. "Well, since you are my friend . . . couldn't you try to put your understandable feelings of resentment aside and help me figure out what to do with Ginny? I'm at a complete standstill."

Pansy tapped her foot irritably, but, thankfully, she didn't resort to dramatics again. Draco was not sure how much his head could handle being screeched at any longer anyway.

"Are you dense?" she suddenly demanded, unable to keep her thoughts to herself. "You break up with me for Weasley, and now you're asking me to help you get her?" She shook her head in exasperation, muttering what sounded suspiciously like 'boys' under her breath.

"Well, you are one of my best friends—even if I did just break up with you. I have to turn to someone, and I can't keep expecting Granger to help me. Going to Blaise is out of the question, and no one in their right mind would ask Crabbe and Goyle for advice—"

Pansy stared at him in some disbelief. "You asked the Mudblood for help? Wow, you really are desperate."

"Yes, I know, but she actually comes in handy sometimes."

"Ah, yes, in being an encyclopaedia for everything – even Ginny Weasley, it seems."

Draco couldn't help but smile. The old Pansy was coming back, for which he was rather glad about, too. He couldn't stand it when she became the lover of melodramatic performances.

"So what do you say?" he asked. "Will you help me?"

Pansy let out a breath, her eyebrow rising ever so slightly. "This is all rather ridiculous, and you really don't deserve my help at all after the way you've treated me."

Draco felt his heart sink. He was so sure that Pansy would have helped him. Even if he had just broken up with her, he didn't think she could have been that attached to him to really hate him for it. After all, she was the one who had broken up with him the last time, and she certainly didn't seem too heartbroken by the fact that they were no longer dating when she was snogging Theodore Nott behind the changing rooms.

He could see her thinking and then a twisted smile slowly crept onto her lips, and her eyes gleamed with mischief. "Blaise really likes Ginny, doesn't he?"

Draco nodded. "So he thinks, anyway."

Her smile grew until she looked positively feral. Draco himself felt just a little alarmed and took a small step back.

"I'll help you," she stated with that same creepy smile.

"Really?"

She nodded. "I may not like you very much right now, Draco, but Blaise Zabini has had his day of reckoning coming for a long time. It's only natural that he should take precedence in my revenge, so you will just have to wait for me to show you how much I am displeased with your behaviour today."

"Uh, sure," Draco responded, privately thinking that Pansy was a bit weird. He wasn't complaining though. It was really quite lucky that Pansy disliked Blaise so much right now. Still, he did wonder what his friend had done to earn this loathing.

"So what did Blaise do?" he asked.

Pansy glared at Draco, but he knew the dagger expression in her eyes was for the absent Slytherin.

"I'm just sick of him thinking he's so charming," she spat. "All he does is go around flirting and sleeping with all the girls, and then he just drops them like used tissues when he gets bored and picks up someone else. Not to mention the whole time we were going out, Blaise would always be there to interrupt and take all your attention for stupid Blaise things. If I can take his dumb ego down a notch, I will, and if it means helping you than that's just a sacrifice I'll have to make."

Draco couldn't help but smile. It was just like Pansy to think that way. She really was a Slytherin at heart, just like them all.

"Alright, so how are you going to help me?" he asked curiously.

He had been wondering what to do with Ginny now that he knew she liked him. If Blaise would just kindly remove himself from the stage, all would be set for Ginny to fall into Draco's very welcoming arms. But Blaise was oblivious to everything. He really was being so disobliging by not realising he was in the way.

Pansy smiled conspiratorially. "Well, there is something we could do—"

The door suddenly opened and Blaise himself walked into the room.

"Speak of the devil," Draco muttered under his breath.

Pansy leaned towards Draco and whispered in his ear under the guise of giving him a kiss, "Leave this to me."

He nodded to show he understood and stared at Blaise, who was watching them both anxiously.

"You two haven't seen Ginny, have you?"

"Lost her, have you?" Pansy asked snidely, making Draco inwardly snicker to himself.

"No," Blaise snapped, losing some of his good-humoured expression, "I just can't find her. There's a difference."

"Right," Pansy replied with a mocking smile. "Maybe she's finally realised how ugly you are and decided to find love somewhere else. Though I'm sure that would never occur to you, since apparently you're God's gift to women."

"You're the one that said it," Blaise responded with a lazy smile, and, leaving Pansy quite speechless, turned to Draco. "Anyway, have you seen Ginny? I want to ask her whether she wants to come with me to Hogsmeade, but I can't find her anywhere."

"On a date?" Pansy queried. "Now that's something. You're actually taking her on a date before you shag her."

Blaise turned his amber-eyes to Pansy, a hint of frustration creeping into the normally good-natured depths. "Yes, Pansy. On a date, and it's really none of your business what I do with my girlfriend."

She didn't seem bothered by this snub and instead gave him a sunny smile that didn't quite hide the gleam of mischief in her eyes. "We should all go on a double date! Right, Draco?"

Draco's brow creased. Hadn't he just broken up with Pansy, though? He caught the warning glare in her eyes and wisely chose to agree.

"Yeah, we should."

"Well, I suppose Ginny would like that," Blaise mused, more to himself. "Alright, I'll ask her what she thinks." His eyes narrowed as he glanced back at Pansy. "You'd better not be planning anything. I haven't forgotten what you did to Padma."

Pansy smiled sweetly. "Now, Blaise, why would I hurt Ginny? I actually like her."

Draco could almost see the words speaking in her eyes: 'you, on the other hand, are far from safe.' He did not envy Blaise right now, and wondered just what it was that Pansy was planning. He, too, had not forgotten what she had done to Padma Patil those six months ago.

Blaise seemed far from convinced, but decided not to debate about it anymore. "Well, it's a double date then. Now I just have to find Ginny. You're sure neither of you have seen her?"

"I saw her this morning, talking to herself," Pansy offered. "It seems to me, Blaise, that you have made our Gryffindor go crazy. Perhaps you should start wearing a sign that says: Danger, may cause moments of insanity."

"Ha, Ha. You're so witty, Pansy."

She smiled angelically. "Only with you, Blaise."

Draco stared at Blaise, who looked thoroughly exasperated, then at Pansy, who was lapping up the annoyance she was giving Blaise like a cat at a cream pot. He wondered why he hadn't noticed before how Pansy and Blaise really did fight all the time. They both seemed to delight in annoying the other, and even though they were friends in an odd sort of what, they did seem to bicker more than laugh together.

Deciding to end the bickering before it got more out of hand, Draco turned to Blaise. "Why don't you try in the library? I have a feeling she might want to talk to Granger."

Blaise groaned. "I never looked there. Ginny's never in there unless she has to absolutely be there, but if she's talking with Granger, then she's bound to be there."

"Indeed."

Pansy smiled mockingly at Blaise. "You see, even the walking encyclopaedia is better company than you."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Draco watched his friend leave and, once the door was shut, turned to Pansy with a slight frown on his face. "What was that about?"

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Never mind," he said with a sigh.

He sat down on one of the chairs, frowning to himself. He was beginning to have a rather odd suspicion about Pansy and Blaise – something he couldn't believe he had not noticed before. Those thoughts were soon interrupted, however, as another thought occurred to him.

"Why are we going on this date?" he demanded. "I broke up with you, remember?"

"Because we're going to pretend that we're still dating. Nobody else knows that we've broken up except us, so it will be fine."

"Are you even going to tell me what you're planning?"

She shook her head. "I think it'd be better if you didn't know."

He frowned, but said nothing more. Though he couldn't help but wonder just what was going to happen on this date, and why Pansy looked positively gleeful at the thought of going on it . . .

**A/N: Don't ask where this chapter came from. I think my sanity went off to lunch while I was writing it.**


	19. Unravelling the Confusion

**Unravelling the Confusion**

Ginny stared at her reflection with a small sigh. She was about to go on a double date with Draco and Pansy, and she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Being surrounded by both the guys she liked could only spell disaster. She really didn't want to face either of them right now. Things had been very tense between her and Draco ever since the changing room incident. She had no idea how she was supposed to act normal around him on a date. With Blaise, it was not much better. Even looking at him made her feel guilty. She wished that she had never entered the changing room that day.

Sighing again, Ginny added the last few finishing touches to her hair and then slipped on a scarf. She was going casual tonight, choosing to wear dark jeans and a bulky, green jacket, as she thought it would be better to be comfortable and warm than to look pretty and freeze her butt off. Besides, she wasn't feeling very well. Her head felt heavy, and her nose seemed to be trying to rival the Niagara Falls.

Ginny grabbed her bag and left her dorm, entering the bustling common room still with a frown on her face. Harry, Hermione and Ron were sitting huddled around their usual spot by the fire, with books and parchment scattering the table near them.

Hermione spotted the redhead and waved her over, a ready smile coming to her lips. "Ginny!"

"Hi," Ginny responded heavily.

"What's wrong?"

Ginny shook her head, then promptly wished she hadn't. A nasty shot of pain throbbed behind her eyes, warning of the migraine that was sure to come. Maybe it would be better not to go out tonight. Then again, if she didn't go now, how would she ever find out who it was she really liked? She had to do this.

"It's nothing," Ginny replied. "I'm just not feeling well."

"Are you sure you want to go then?" Hermione asked. "You don't look so good."

Ginny forced a smile, trying to appear unconcerned, even though she knew her nose was tipped with red. "No, I'll go."

"Well, Blaise is waiting for you at the Entrance Hall. He did try to come in, but after Ron threatened to castrate him, he decided it would be better to just leave."

Typical Ron. He always had to interfere in her business. Why couldn't he just see that she was old enough to make her own decisions and have her own boyfriends? Her brother never could give her a break – or her boyfriends, it seemed.

"Thanks," Ginny said. "I'll go meet him now."

"Good luck!"

Ginny nodded her head and gave a small wave as she left the common room, privately thinking she would need all the luck she could get. Who knew what was going to happen tonight?

**OOOO**

Draco stared at Pansy in some surprise. "You look nice," he commented, eyeing the seductive little number she was wearing with appreciation.

Pansy had all the right curves to make a boy stare, and, thanks to her height, which rivalled even Draco's, she was certainly no one to disregard.

"Thank you," she said with a wicked smile. "I plan on making a statement tonight, and I know that Weasley will be wearing something very Eskimo-ish, as she always does."

Draco didn't doubt it, but he personally found the 'Eskimo' look cute. He did wonder why Pansy found it so imperative to draw attention to her body though. After all, she couldn't possibly be hoping that he would want to do anything with her. They had broken up, even if they were now pretending to still date for the sake of her plan – which she still had not disclosed to him.

He glanced away from his friend and spotted a tall figure moving towards them. "Here comes Blaise."

Pansy's eyes gleamed with mischief in the evening light, and Draco wondered if he had made the right decision in getting her to help him. He recalled very vividly how Padma had been reduced to tears after she had been stood up on her date thanks to Pansy's intervening – Blaise having been intercepted by Daphne through Pansy's manipulation. Draco couldn't actually remember why Pansy had decided to get rid of Padma, though he did remember Padma being a stupid, stuck-up girl who thought very highly of herself for dating their friend. More than likely, Pansy had simply got sick of having Padma come over to them with that silly smile on her face and so decided to take matters into her own capable hands. Pansy was a merciless plotter, and he couldn't help but wonder if he and Ginny would leave this date unscathed. Judging by the dark-haired witch's expression, it seemed she was out for the kill.

"He doesn't have Ginny with him yet," Pansy observed,

"No," Draco murmured, having realised that fact too.

"Lost your girlfriend again?" Pansy asked sardonically, once Blaise was in talking range of them.

"No," Blaise muttered. "I just had her brother threaten to do goodness-knows-what if I stayed by her common room any longer. I decided it would be best to wait for her out here." He glared at the ground in frustration. "I don't know how Ginny manages to have such a twit for a brother."

"Well, you'd better get used to him," Pansy said with feigned casualness. "If you're with her, you're practically with the family as well. They're all very close, the Weasleys."

Blaise didn't look very happy at this thought, and continued to frown as he pondered over Pansy's seemingly innocent words. Draco watched in admiration as the crease on his friend's brow deepened. He knew that Blaise was truly disturbed at the thought that he might really have to put up with the Weasleys all the time. Pansy was a wonder.

"Oh, look!" Pansy exclaimed. "Here comes Ginny!"

Both boys turned to see the short redhead moving towards them, completely bundled up in her scarf, jacket, hat, and gloves. Pansy had been right: she did look like an Eskimo.

"Sorry I'm late," Ginny said by way of greeting. "I had Ron trying to lock me in a cupboard."

She folded her arms and gave a mighty sniff, looking very woebegone. Draco was suddenly struck by the difference between Pansy and Ginny. While Pansy looked attractive and elegant in her curve-hugging dress and warm boots, Ginny looked sick and miserable, and had might as well have been a bundle of clothes than a girl. Blaise, too, seemed to notice the difference, and was eyeing his girlfriend with some trepidation.

"Are you feeling alright, Ginny?" Blaise asked with a worried look.

Draco knew that his friend had a great fear of getting sick, and he couldn't help the smile that crept to his lips as he watched Blaise recoil slightly from his sniffling girlfriend. This should be interesting.

Ginny sniffed very unattractively again and pulled out a handkerchief to blow her nose. Draco was particularly impressed by the sheer power of her nose blowing skills, but Blaise seemed to be trying to hide his distaste. It seemed that Pansy really was a genius. He had no doubt that she was the one who had made Ginny get sick so quickly.

As much as he felt sorry for Ginny, Draco knew that Blaise was going to have a hard time liking his girlfriend tonight, which was a good thing for the blond. Not only did Blaise hate being around sick people, but it was clear that he was finding this new side of Ginny very off-putting. People assumed that Blaise couldn't care less about appearances, being so laid-back himself, but he could be just as snobbish and fickle as his mother when he wanted. They were all well-off Purebloods, after all, and had been brought up with the finest manners and etiquette. It was only natural to expect the same from everyone else.

"Fine," Ginny mumbled in a stuffy voice, wiping her nose with her hand. Draco could almost see his friend trying not to shudder. "Just got a cold, I think."

Blaise gave a strained smile, obviously trying to be polite for her sake. Normally, Draco would be feeling much the same as Blaise, but he had long-since come to find everything about Ginny adorable. His friend may be repulsed by Ginny's less than ladylike manner and sickly appearance, but Draco only found himself more drawn to her than ever, if only to hold her and comfort her.

"Shall we go then?" Pansy asked brightly.

They all mumbled their agreement and headed off towards Hogsmeade. Draco could see Ginny looking miserable and cold as she hugged her body tight while saying something to Blaise. Blaise, on the other hand, looked torn between wanting to comfort his girlfriend yet also wanting to run away. When Ginny sneezed violently, Draco couldn't help but be amused as Blaise gave an alarmed look at the petite redhead beside him.

"What did you do to her?" Draco asked Pansy as they walked.

Pansy gave another wicked smile, and Draco felt very glad that he was not on the receiving end of her scheming.

"I slipped some flu-inducing potion in her drink at lunch," Pansy confided. "I've seen Weasley with a cold before, and I knew Blaise would have a hard time talking to her when she's like this. She's as revolting as her brother when she gets sick."

Draco saw Ginny rub her nose with her hand and give another loud sniff. He didn't doubt Pansy was right, but he did have to wonder if this would really be as effective as she thought.

"Do you think this is enough to make Blaise stop liking Ginny?"

Pansy laughed softly. "_Stupid_, haven't you realised what I'm doing?"

He looked at her face, noting the silent laughter in her eyes, and realised that he obviously hadn't. Pansy sighed in exasperation and tugged on his arm to bring him a little more away from the other couple so they could not hear.

"I'm not trying to make Blaise not like Ginny," Pansy explained. "I'm making Ginny not like Blaise. He doesn't know how to deal with her like this, and it's pretty obvious that he doesn't find her sneezing and sniffing very charming. Up until now he's always just seen her as the fiery girl that likes to have fun because she's been directing all her nastiness at you. He doesn't know the real her, and now he's going to get it all in one go, and I can tell you that he is not ready for it."

Draco wasn't sure if he was just feeling particularly stupid or if Pansy was just useless at explaining things, but he still didn't quite understand his friend's plan.

"And?" he queried.

"And so she'll start to get irritated with him. Blaise seems perfect until you put him out of his element. He's about to get very much out of his element."

"This isn't all you're planning, is it?"

Pansy smiled angelically. "Of course not. Just sit back and enjoy the show, Draco."

Draco glanced back at Blaise and Ginny and felt just the tiniest bit of guilt that he had pushed Pansy to do this. He couldn't turn back now, though. Besides, he was just as eager as his friend to see Blaise break up with Ginny.

They all entered the warmth of _The_ _Three Broomsticks_, and Draco was relieved to see that the restaurant was not as full as it normally was. The last thing he wanted was to be squeezed like sardines at a table, hearing the tedious chitchat of the other people around him.

They all sat down and chose their dinners, chatting about inconsequential things as they waited for Madam Rosmerta to come and get their orders. Ginny didn't look too happy, and it was no surprise since Blaise had barely spoken to her upon entering the pub. Draco could see Ginny getting increasingly frustrated and, finally, when it seemed she would crack, Pansy suddenly smiled at the girl opposite her.

"Ginny, won't you come with me to the bathroom?"

Ginny looked a little confused. "But I don't need to go toilet," she said bluntly.

Draco smiled to himself. It was just like Ginny to say something like that. How could he have ever hated this girl?

Pansy tried hard not to sigh in exasperation and instead took Ginny by the hand. "Yes, dear, but as girls we always go to the bathroom during dates to talk and reapply our makeup. You know?"

"Oh," Ginny said with a snort, clearly finding the whole idea ridiculous. "Well, okay then."

Pansy smiled at the two boys, giving a subtle wink at Draco as she met his gaze. "We'll be back soon."

The boys nodded, and Draco watched as his friend swept the sneezing redhead off towards the bathroom. Whatever they were going to talk about, he was sure Blaise would not like at all, and felt just a little uneasy himself. You just never knew with Pansy . . .

**OOOO**

Ginny stood rather awkwardly in the bathroom, not quite sure what she was supposed to be doing. Pansy was expertly redoing her lip-gloss, but Ginny wasn't wearing any, nor did she need to reapply mascara, or any other type of make-up for that matter. It seemed this was a tradition many girls did, but Ginny, like her friend Hermione, was not really the _typical_ girl. She'd much rather be playing Quidditch than fussing over makeup, and she'd always found it easier to befriend the boys than the girls anyway.

Pansy's dark eyes caught hers through the mirror and a rather sly smile formed on the Slytherin's lips. Ginny didn't know why but she felt just the smallest prickling of unease creep over her. There was something about that smile that made her feel on edge.

"This must be your first date with Blaise, right?" Pansy asked.

"Yeah."

It wasn't going very well either. She felt and looked terrible, and Blaise seemed to not even want to talk to her. He'd barely even looked at her. In fact, he seemed happier to stare at Pansy Parkinson, who, Ginny realised enviously, looked very nice in her sleek, black dress and boots.

Ginny wondered if perhaps she should have tried to dress up more for her date, if only to feel a little more confident around the boys. It was becoming increasingly hard to be as unconcerned as she normally was with her appearance; though, with a shiny red nose on her face, she thought she was allowed to feel vain just this once and wish she looked just a little prettier.

"I'd watch out for him if I were you," Pansy remarked after a moment of silence. "He doesn't wait long."

Ginny's eyebrows drew together into a frown. "What are you talking about?"

Pansy put away her lip-gloss and looked at Ginny frankly. "I'm meaning that he'll try to get you in the sack sooner or later, especially now that you've had your first date. I'm surprised he waited this long, actually. He's certainly not shy when it comes to having sex, and he expects all his girlfriends to put out for him."

Ginny could feel her cheeks heating terribly and lowered her gaze to the floor. This was a topic she did not want to talk about – especially with Pansy, who she knew had slept with Draco and therefore would not understand her sentiments. She had not done anything serious like that with any of her boyfriends, and she did not want to either. She was only fifteen for goodness' sakes.

"Maybe he won't with me," Ginny said in a small voice, still blushing terribly. "I've never given him any suggestion that I would."

Pansy moved away from the mirror and stared down at Ginny with an odd smile playing on her lips. There was something vindictive about that smile.

"You don't want to sleep with him? I heard he's very good."

Ginny's blush deepened, and she shook her head in embarrassment. "It's not that. I just—" She swallowed. "I'm a virgin."

"Ah, well that certainly makes things difficult. I wonder how he will take that."

"W-what do you mean?" Ginny asked, feeling suddenly very small, inexperienced and naïve.

She hated that Pansy was looking down on her in such superiority, as if the dark-haired witch knew so much more than her because she was not a virgin. Ginny felt her temper rising and clenched her hands into fists.

"Well, he is a guy," Pansy stated, as if this explained everything, "and he's a guy that knows he can get pleasure whenever he wants. Girls flock to him, and he's been known to cheat when he doesn't get satisfaction."

Now _that_ Ginny had not heard, and she felt just a little upset about it too. She didn't want to believe Pansy, but she knew herself that Blaise was a terrible flirt and went through girls as fast Draco offended them.

"What?" Ginny asked, frowning.

Pansy nodded, her eyes gleaming darkly. "Oh, yes. Didn't you know? He was supposed to go on a date with Padma Patil, who was his girlfriend at the time, but he ended up shagging Daphne Greengrass in one of the abandoned classrooms. Caused quite the stir through the Slytherins, I can tell you, but girls only flocked to him even more after that. They all wanted a piece of the Slytherin who was making quite the dangerous name for himself amongst the girls of Hogwarts."

This couldn't be right. Blaise was a good person. He was friendly, charming, and loved her. She couldn't believe this of him. She just couldn't.

"You're lying," Ginny accused.

Pansy laughed derisively, making Ginny pause in her judgement. Could Pansy be telling the truth? Was it possible that Blaise really was not as wonderful as she thought him?

"Ginny, I only tell you this because I'd hate to see you become another notch on his belt," Pansy said more kindly. "You don't know what he's like. You may think that he cares about you, but give it a week or so and he'll soon be growing tired of you. The fact that you don't even want to sleep with him will only make that clock tick faster."

"But—"

"Think about it, Ginny. Even if he does find you fascinating right now, how long do you think that will really last? Tell me honestly because, somehow, I thought you were smarter than this."

"He loves me," Ginny objected desperately, wishing rather than believing that it was true. "He wrote me a poem and everything."

Pansy burst out laughing, and Ginny once again found that she felt very small and awkward. What could possibly be so funny about Blaise's poem?

"You actually think he wrote that?" Pansy asked scornfully, looking down at Ginny as if she were a particularly stupid child.

"Why wouldn't I?" Ginny asked, feeling more upset and angry by the minute.

"Ginny," Pansy said with a disdainful smile, "Blaise never wrote that poem. I'd hazard he's never written a poem in his life, let alone something romantic."

Ginny shook her head. She was suddenly feeling very close to tears, though whether that was from feeling sick or the confusion swirling inside her, she was not sure.

"You're lying."

"You can think I'm lying if you want, but I'm telling you the truth. Look at me, Ginny!"

Ginny raised her eyes to Pansy's face and could see how serious she actually was. There was no twinkle in her eyes, no smile lurking on her mouth; she was firm and cold, not trying to be nice, but not trying to be mean either. She was just telling facts, and Ginny realised with a sudden stab of pain that she believed them. There was no possible way to deny the truth, but she had to wonder why Blaise would lie to her. Why would he say he wrote that poem? And if he didn't, then who did?

"W-why would he lie?" Ginny asked pathetically.

Something hot trickled down her face. Was it tears? She didn't know; she was just so upset and confused, and her head was throbbing so painfully that she could barely think at all.

"Because he was desperate, Ginny," Pansy responded, "and you refused him. He only wanted you because you happened to be the object of his interest at the time. The poem was the only way he could think to get you to accept him, so he got Dr—his friend to write the poem for him."

The words slammed into her head, echoing over and over in her mind. Pansy could not possibly be lying. Ginny knew the girl was vindictive, but surely she would not lie about something like this? She had no reason to.

Ginny suddenly began to feel very dizzy and blinked as black dots floated past her eyes and a loud ringing resounded in her ears.

"I . . . I think I need to sit down," Ginny mumbled, and stumbled out of the room with tears streaking down her cheeks.

Pansy watched the redhead leave the bathroom and then stared impassively at the closed door. The deed was done, but somehow she did not feel as triumphant as she thought she would. Ginny had been genuinely hurt; she had seen it in the younger girl's eyes. There was no turning back now, though. Blaise was only getting what he deserved. He should never have tricked the redhead into loving him by using Draco's poem. He would learn that his good looks and charm could not always save him from everything, and if Ginny had to suffer because of it, then so be it. Blaise had had this coming for a long time, and Pansy would not regret it.

So what if she had lied about Blaise only wanting sex? So what if he did care about Ginny? It wouldn't last anyway. She could see that he didn't really care about her deep down and only thought he did. This was the only way to break them off. It was the only way . . .

**OOOO**

Draco played with the saltshaker sitting near his hands and sighed to himself as he wondered how long the girls were going to be. Blaise was prattling on about something, but Draco wasn't really paying attention; he was far too worried about what was going on in the bathroom.

The door to the women's bathroom opened, and Draco glanced up to see Ginny stumbling out, looking very pale. She met his gaze, tears slipping down her cheeks. He didn't even think about what he was doing; he just stood up and walked swiftly towards her, catching her in his arms just before she fainted.

"Is she okay?" Blaise asked worriedly, rushing over to him.

"I don't know," Draco said truthfully, holding Ginny protectively against his chest.

Pansy came out of the bathroom and greeted them with a surprised look, obviously not expecting them to both be there. Draco felt a bubble of anger rise inside him – even though he had been the one who had requested her help – but it was Blaise who got there first.

"What did you do to her, Pansy?"

"I simply told her the truth. She knows that you did not write the poem. It's not my problem she's too weak to handle it."

Blaise's eyes narrowed and he took a step towards her. "What the hell is wrong with you!" he demanded angrily. "Why do you always have to interfere? It's damn-well none of your business if I wrote that poem or not, Pansy, and I'm sick of you always playing your little games and meddling in what doesn't concern you!"

"Did you honestly think I was going to sit back and let you trick that poor girl into loving you?" Pansy retorted. "She's not like your usual whores, Blaise. She actually has some decency."

"You don't think I didn't know that?" he exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "I know Ginny's not like the other girls; I knew that from the moment I first got to know her, but you just had to go and ruin it, didn't you? You always have to ruin it!"

Pansy drew herself to her full height, looking just as furious as Blaise. "Don't kid yourself, Blaise. You never really liked her. You just thought you did because she was different. Do you honestly think that you'll still feel intrigued by her in a month's time? I know you; I know what you're like. You should be thanking me for ending it before it got anymore out of hand."

"Thanking you? Are you crazy? You just ruined any hope I had with the girl I love!"

"Love?" Pansy laughed and shook her head scornfully. "You talk of love? You don't even know what love is! You just think that because you find someone attractive somehow it's love. You think because someone new comes along and catches your fancy that it's love. You have no bloody idea what love is, Blaise. You don't know anything at all."

"What do you know, Pansy?" Blaise snapped, clenching his hands so hard that his knuckles burned a savage white. "You say you love Draco so much, but all you ever do is meddle with my love life. Sure, people seem to think that I'm the one who goes through all the girls, never mind the fact that you're always there to conveniently make them hate me! I know it was you who set Daphne onto me that time, and I'm pretty sure it would be a good guess to say that you got rid of the others too!"

"I wasn't the one who told you to shag Daphne," Pansy said dryly. "It's not my fault you let her have her way with you."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Well, gee, Pansy, next time a good-looking guy starts taking his clothes off in front of you, you tell me how well you do."

"It's no excuse," Pansy retorted angrily. "You didn't care about them anyway. If you did, you would have fought for them more, but you just let them go and moved onto the next as if nothing had happened at all."

Blaise let out a growl of frustration and turned away from both of them. Draco wondered if he should go – for her was still holding Ginny against him – but he found himself curious to know what would happen.

"You know I'm right, Blaise," Pansy said more quietly.

"Am I supposed to thank you now?" Blaise snapped, turning back to face her. "You seem to delight in bringing up my faults, Pansy, but you're far from perfect yourself. Yes, I have a weakness for girls; yes, I can't say that I am a good boyfriend, or that I seem to be able to stay interested in the same girl for too long. But you—" His eyes narrowed. "You actually take delight in breaking those girls' hearts, and for what? So you can sit back and laugh and tell me how stupid I was for thinking I might have loved them? So you can rub it in my face that I'm not as perfect as people think me?"

He walked towards her, his expression twisted with all the bitterness he felt. "Go on then, Pansy," he said harshly. "Laugh it up. You've won. You've got everything you wanted. You broke Ginny's heart and ruined yet another of my relationships. Doesn't it just make you feel absolutely sick with joy?"

Tears glistened in Pansy's eyes, and Draco was surprised to note that they were not the dramatic tears he had so often seen her shed, but the sincere tears of someone in deep pain.

"No," she confessed softly, lowering her gaze to ground. "I don't."

"What?"

"I don't feel proud at all." Her body trembled slightly, though she still tried to stand strong in an attempt to retain some of her dignity. "I thought I would. I thought I was teaching you a real good lesson, but now I see how stupid I was. I see now that I only did it because I—"

"Yes?"

Pansy took a small breath and looked the other way. "Because I like you."

Draco saw Blaise's eyes widened, and even he felt a jolt of surprise run through him. The other day, when he'd seen his two friends arguing, he'd wondered if Pansy had felt more for Blaise than she had let on. Now Draco knew it was true.

So he was not the only one who had tried to hide in another relationship to disguise his true feelings. He suddenly felt very sorry for Pansy, even though she had done some terrible things, and wondered how Blaise would react.

"You what?" Blaise asked disbelievingly, looking at her as if seeing her for the first time.

"I was jealous, okay," Pansy admitted in a tight voice. "I couldn't stand it when you went with those girls." She shook her head, still looking the other way. "I thought I loved Draco and was just angry at you because you seemed to not care about any of your girlfriends. I realise now that I was frustrated because you would look at all those other girls, but you would never look at me."

"Pansy, I—"

"I know you probably hate me right now, and I know you have every reason to." She finally turned to face him, tears glistening on her dark lashes. "I only went on this date tonight so I could force Ginny to break up with you. Draco and I don't even go out – we were just pretending." She wiped the tears away from her eyes and once more dropped her gaze. "I'm sorry, Blaise. I promise I'll never interfere again."

She cast an apologetic look at Draco and then quickly ran from the room. Blaise stood there for a moment, staring at the space where she had stood, then turned to Draco with an unreadable expression on his face.

"I never knew," he said quietly.

"Neither did I," Draco admitted.

Blaise frowned to himself, clearly deep in thought. "I have to go after her," he decided.

Draco only nodded his head and watched as Blaise followed Pansy out the door, no doubt to sort out what was really going on between them. It wouldn't surprise him to learn that Blaise actually returned Pansy's sentiments – even if Blaise had not known it before. Draco understood how easy it was to be blind to what was right in front of you; it had taken him a long time to realise he liked Ginny, after all.

He glanced down at the girl leaning against him and sighed as he realised she must have passed out. He picked her up in his arms, holding her more securely against his chest, and carried her out of _The Three Broomsticks_. As he walked back towards the school, he caught a glimpse of Pansy and Blaise standing by a tree, talking quietly to each other. He watched as Pansy shook her head and turned away, but then Blaise took two steps forward, pulling her back to face him, and kissed her soundly on the lips.

Draco continued walking, still carrying Ginny in his arms. He was not quite sure what would happen now, but he was glad that Blaise and Pansy had sorted out their feelings. Ginny would probably be hurt when she found out, but there was nothing he could do about that. It wasn't up to him anymore. Blaise had clearly made his decision, and though Draco did feel guilty for the role he had played in tonight's events, he wasn't going to complain about the way things had turned out. This was what he had wanted, after all. Ginny was free for him to like, just as he had desired.

He just hoped she would not be too heartbroken.

**OOOO**

Ginny opened her eyes and winced as her head continued to throb with pain. There was a sickly sweet smell in the air, and she glanced about the room and saw someone leaning over a cauldron, filling a vial with red liquid. She closed her eyes and fell back weakly against the bed, unable to stay focussed for very long thanks to the aches and chills attacking her body.

Memories of what had happened before she had fallen asleep flashed back through her mind, and she let out a pitiful sob as she remembered everything that Pansy had told her. Blaise had not written the poem, he had never loved her as she thought he did, and though she wished with all her heart that it were not true, she knew she could not delude herself into thinking otherwise.

"You're awake," a soothing voice said from somewhere near her.

Ginny turned to see familiar grey eyes staring down at her: eyes that right now held so much tenderness and concern that she felt quite ready to burst into tears – and did.

"Don't cry, Ginny." Draco looped an arm around her and helped her to sit up, letting her head rest against his chest. "Here, drink this."

He offered the sweet smelling liquid to her, but Ginny didn't want it. It smelt bad and made her feel sick, and why did the world have to spin like this?

She gripped his robes and buried her face into his chest, drinking in the soothing scent of his cologne and feeling his heart beating steadily against her cheek. Tears slipped from her eyes, and she had to bite her lip to stop the sobs that threatened to escape. She had been a complete fool. A complete, naïve fool. She should never have trusted Blaise. Hermione had been right . . .

"Ginny, you have to drink this. It'll make you feel better."

"I can't," Ginny moaned, still clutching onto his robes. "I feel too sick."

Draco sighed and dipped her head back, forcing the liquid down her throat. It tasted as disgusting as it smelt, and Ginny gagged and choked on it, thrashing about weakly in his arms as she tried to push him away. Once he had forced her to swallow the potion, she settled down and rested against his chest, crying pitifully to herself at the unfairness of it all.

The blond placed his other arm around her and held her close to him, stroking her hair in an absent kind of way. She wept bitterly to herself, feeling all the heartbreak of a young love shattered, and not once did he stop her. He just silently held her in his arms, letting her release the sadness inside her until she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

Draco placed her in the bed and pulled the covers up over her. He smoothed the sticky hair away from her face and stared down at her with a troubled look in his eyes, then he leaned down and gave her a small kiss on her forehead.

"Sleep well, Ginny," he whispered, letting his fingers trail caressingly down her pale cheek.

He sighed and pulled himself away, resuming his seat by her bed. There he remained, watching her as she slept until he too slowly felt the pull of tiredness shut his eyes and drag him into the deep slumbers of the night.

**A/N: Not much humour in this one, but you may potentially choke on the fluffy ending. More importantly, there are only two chapters left of this story. It's the final countdown! (Oh, dear. I now have that song stuck in my head. I hope you all suffer the same fate.)**


	20. Third Time's the Charm

**Third Time's the Charm**

Ginny opened her eyes groggily, relieved to find that the aches and chills attacking her body were gone. She still felt tired and drained, but she no longer felt like her head was slamming into walls, and her nose, thankfully, was no longer dripping faster than a leaky cauldron. She shifted in the bed and realised that something heavy was resting on her legs, restricting her movement. Ginny sat up in confusion and was surprised to see Draco sleeping soundly against her legs, yet still, impossibly, managing to stay on the chair he was sitting on.

A small frown settled on Ginny's lips as she wondered just why Draco Malfoy was asleep on her bed. That was until she realised that she wasn't actually in her bed; in fact, she had no idea where she was. The room was completely unfamiliar, only holding a cauldron, a chair, and the bed she was currently sitting in. She couldn't even remember how she had got to the bed. The last thing she remembered was leaving the bathroom after Pansy had said all that stuff about Blaise.

Ginny felt her eyes tingle unpleasantly, and she firmly pushed all thoughts of the amber-eyed boy out of her mind. She would not cry over him anymore, no matter how much it hurt. He was not worth it, even if he had been a dear friend. He had betrayed her by lying about the poem, and she could not find it in herself to forgive him. Not yet, anyway.

She glanced back at Draco and wondered if he had brought her here. She vaguely recalled being held in someone's arms and having someone feed her some foul-tasting potion, but she had just thought that had been a dream. Seeing the blond Slytherin fast asleep on her bed, however, made her wonder if it had been real.

Ginny stared at him curiously, watching the soft, blond strands of his hair flutter against his face as he breathed steadily. His eyes were shut, and his expression was so relaxed and unguarded that she thought he looked younger, somehow, even gentle – an adjective she would normally never use to describe the rude and obnoxious Slytherin.

A smile crept onto her lips, and she couldn't help but reach out and smooth back his hair while really taking the time to just look at his face without him smirking or glaring at her. It was nice, and she realised she liked it when he slept – not because, when he was asleep, he wasn't ruining things by opening his big, fat mouth (though it helped), but because the soft quietness she rarely saw in him seemed to come to life in the smoothness of his slumbering visage.

He shifted and pulled his face away from her fingers, looking so adorable in his sleepy crossness that Ginny had to try hard not to giggle. It was clear he was stirring but was reluctant to face the day, being much more content to keep sleeping in his awkward position. She was half-tempted to let him sleep, but her legs were beginning to protest against his weight.

"Draco," Ginny murmured, giving him a gentle shake.

He mumbled something incoherent and tried to shuffle away from her hands, but this proved to be a bad idea, as he toppled right off the bed with a loud thud. Ginny heard him groan sleepily to himself upon being woken up in such a painful way, and he cursed softly under his breath as his mind clearly registered what had happened. She couldn't help but laugh, and continued to laugh as his very tousled head finally popped up over the bed, looking rather put out indeed.

"What's so funny?" he muttered. "That hurt, you know." He yawned and stretched his arms to ease his stiff muscles. "What time is it?"

Ginny shrugged and hugged her knees to herself, still eyeing him with innocent curiosity. She'd never seen Draco like this, and was finding it quite endearing.

"I don't know," she said, "I only just woke up myself."

She watched him glance about for something and smiled to herself as he scratched his messy hair in obvious puzzlement. She'd never thought she would see the day when she thought Draco Malfoy cute, but cute was the only way to describe this sleepy boy.

"There it is!" he exclaimed and picked up his cloak, which had been tossed recklessly on the floor.

He reached into the pocket and pulled out a pocket watch, glancing at it blearily before dropping both the watch and cloak, and then clambered up on the bed next to her. Ginny sat in stunned silence as he slipped under the covers and got into a more comfortable position. She was very conscious of his weight next to her in the bed, and was not really sure what to make of the odd situation. Though he was just lying there next to her, it was still uncomfortable – though she knew that any amorous thoughts he might have held were probably far from Draco's mind right now.

"Um, Draco."

"Go to sleep, Ginny," he scolded, his eyes firmly shut.

But Ginny was no longer tired. She could not sleep with him right next to her. It was just weird.

He let out a deep breath as he relaxed more in the bed, and his leg brushed lightly against hers. Ginny sat straight and stiff, not daring to move, and feeling incredibly awkward. She glanced down at him again, noting how easy and natural he found this, and felt just a little irritated.

"You can't go to sleep in this bed with me," she muttered after a moment of silence.

"Sure I can," Draco replied sleepily. "It's five-thirty in the morning, I'm not getting up now, and I've got a crick in my neck from sleeping on that chair. Besides, I just spent the whole night making flu-healing potions for you and having you cry all over me. The least you can do is let me sleep next to you."

Well, that was certainly the Draco she knew. Trust him to ruin all those nice memories of him looking after her by saying something like that. His words didn't make the situation any better though, and Ginny was not about to give in yet.

"Yes, but—"

Draco sighed and grabbed her firmly by the waist, yanking her down next to him so that she was lying down again. "Shut up, Weasley, and stop fretting."

Ginny stiffened so much that she was sure she had just become a plank of wood. She could feel his warm body next to hers, and her heart started pounding hard in her chest while her throat suddenly decided to go very dry. He seemed to sense her discomfort, for he removed his arm from her waist and tried to give her as much space as he could in a single bed.

"Just relax," he mumbled. "I'm not going to do anything."

She glanced at his face, which was resting next to hers on the pillow, but his eyes were shut so she could not see his expression. Still, she knew that she could trust him. It was clear that all he really cared about doing was going back to sleep. Feeling much more at ease, Ginny snuggled up beside him to get warm and let out a small breath.

They both lay there silently for a moment, but Ginny was still troubled by the fuzzy memories that flittered through her brain. She had been somewhat delirious last night, but she did know that Draco had stayed up most of the night to look after her. He had even said himself that she had been crying all over him, which meant that memory of her leaning against his chest and crying as he stroked her hair and mumbled soothing words was real. He had actually comforted her.

"Draco."

"Mm?"

"Did you really hold me in your arms last night? When I was crying and all."

Draco was silent for a moment, and then she heard him let out a small sigh. "Go to sleep, Ginny." he said finally.

Ginny smiled and snuggled up to him even more, for she knew now that the memory had been real. She watched his face in the dusky light and wondered what she had ever done to deserve such a friend. She had not forgotten her conversation with Hermione, and knew very well that she liked the snarky boy lying next to her. However, she was hesitant to admit her feelings, especially since she and Blaise had pretty much fallen apart. She didn't want Draco to think she only wanted to date him as a rebound, and, in truth, she was reluctant to try her hand at romance again, anyway. Two failed relationships in a year were not the easiest to deal with, and she was afraid of having it happen again.

"Stop staring at me," Draco muttered. "It's creeping me out."

Ginny giggled softly, but she closed her eyes all the same and then, together, they slowly drifted off to sleep.

**OOOO**

Hermione shifted in the bed, feeling increasingly frustrated. Why was it that she could not get comfortable? It seemed like all her sheets were tangled around her legs, her head could not find a soft spot on the pillow, and, to top it all off, a stupid owl was hooting very loudly near the window. This was just ridiculous.

Furious, and feeling the least shreds of sleep leave her, Hermione thrust the covers off her body and placed her feet on the floor. She shivered at the shock of the icy stone and quickly stuffed her feet into her slippers while grumbling under her breath about winter and every other cold morning. She wrapped a pink dressing gown around her body and walked towards the door, almost tripping over Crookshanks in the process. Hermione closed her eyes to gather her patience and wisely kept her mouth shut for the sake of her dorm mates. Then she scooped Crookshanks up into her arms and left the room.

Hermione scratched Crookshanks' ears as she made her way down to the common room, and was surprised to see she was not the only one who could not sleep. A boy was sitting on one of the squishy armchairs by the fire, his messy black hair sticking up everywhere.

"Harry?"

Harry turned and gave her a small, tight-lipped smile before he went back to gazing at the fire. Hermione wondered what was bothering him and sat down next to him, still holding her fluffy burden.

"You couldn't sleep either?" she asked, watching him curiously as she patted Crookshanks on her lap.

He shook his head, letting out a small sigh as he did so. "No, I couldn't sleep."

Silence fell about them and, for a moment, the only sounds that could be heard were Crookshanks happy purring and the soft crackle of the fire. Hermione stared at the ginger fluff ball in her arms and, annoyingly enough, thought of the conversation she and Draco had had not so many days ago. She tried to put it out of her mind, but the thoughts would not go away. She knew she liked Harry, and Draco had told her to just tell him how she felt. Now would be the perfect chance. They were both alone in the room and there was no one to interrupt them.

She glanced at Harry, noting the way his fringe fell into his eyes as he leaned down to stoke the fire. She could stare into those eyes for hours if she wasn't afraid of looking like a sap, and right now they looked even more beautiful with the fire reflecting in them – almost like burning emeralds.

Hermione stared back at the fire, feeling the helplessness of her situation wash over her. She just couldn't bring herself to say anything. She was frightened he would laugh, frightened of having all her hopes blighted and hearing those terrible words that he could not like her – that he only liked her as a friend. How could she risk that? Gryffindor or not, she was happier with her delusions in thinking that maybe he could. She'd rather have hope than nothing at all.

"Hermione."

His voice was soft, almost caressing in her deluded mind. She raised her eyes back to his face, seeing his restlessness. Her heart ached at the sight, but she kept her face impassive. "Yes?"

"Do you think I deserve to be loved?"

She frowned. Where had this come from? Why did he think he did not deserve love? If anything, he deserved it more than anyone else.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

He sighed and stared hard into the fire, his mouth set in a firm frown. "I don't know. I just . . . I just feel like somehow I don't deserve it. Like I'm being punished if I even try to hope I do. Everyone always gets hurt, and then I don't even think I know how to love anyway. They don't give us manuals for that, and I—" He broke off and shook his head, looking suddenly embarrassed. "Never mind."

"Harry." Hermione turned his face towards her so that he had no choice but to meet her gaze. "You deserve love. You deserve everything good that happens to you. You're a good person, Harry, and it's not your fault when people get hurt. We all make our own choices." She smiled tenderly, smoothing back his unruly fringe so that his scar peeped out between her fingers. "As for you not knowing how to love, I think you've proven enough that you can. You just have to not be afraid of it."

He placed his hand over hers, his green eyes intense, and then he was closing the distance between them. Hermione could feel her heart speeding up in expectation of what was to come, and she just managed to catch the tiny freckles on his nose before her eyes slid shut and his lips were pressing softly against hers. It was only a few seconds before he pulled away again.

"I'm sorry," he said in a tight voice. "I should never—"

"No," Hermione interrupted, feeling her heart pounding in her chest like a wild drum. "I-I liked it."

Harry glanced back at her in surprise, yet there was also relief. "I did too," he admitted quietly, and then his cheeks flooded with pink and he quickly stared at his hands.

She knew that Harry had kissed Cho and Ginny before, but this was different. They were best friends and, somehow, that seemed so forbidden and awkward, yet so right as well.

"Do you—do you want to do it again?" Hermione asked shyly.

"No," he said quickly.

"Oh . . ."

Hermione fell silent and glanced away in embarrassment. Was she really that bad?

Harry seemed to sense her feelings, for he looked suddenly horrified. "No," he said again. "I mean, I do, but I—" He sighed and said nothing more, obviously unsure how to phrase his muddled feelings.

"It's okay," Hermione said, not quite able to her hide her disappointment. "I understand."

For a moment, she had thought he liked her. For a moment, she had felt her heart soaring in her chest just as if it had developed wings all of its own. But she had been wrong.

"Hermione," Harry said gently.

She turned her face just as he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was nowhere near perfect. It was clumsily started, and their teeth knocked together awkwardly, but even then there was something magical about it. She could feel her body trembling as he deepened the kiss, his hands tentatively coming to rest on her cheeks. A deep sigh seemed to travel through her body, and she relaxed into the kiss, shyly exploring her feelings with her lips, just as he did, though neither of them tried to give too much too soon.

When they finally broke apart, she met his gaze with a shy smile, their faces still so close that she could see the different shades of green that made up his irises.

"What does this mean, Harry?" she couldn't help but ask, reluctant to speak, but wanting to know all the same. She didn't think she could bear to have him turn around and say he didn't like her after that kiss.

He smiled and allowed his hand to lightly caress her cheek, then said those words she knew she would never forget:

"I think this means I like you."

**OOOOO**

When Ginny woke up again, several hours later, she could not have felt more content or comfortable. She was not so impressed, however, when the warm body next to her moved to get out of the bed, allowing the chilly air outside to attack her skin. She shivered and made a noise like a grumpy kitten as she huddled down into the blankets, still keeping her eyes shut against the light.

Draco was shuffling about near the bed, and she rolled over and opened one eye blearily to see him putting his shoes back on. He glanced at her in amusement as he picked up his cloak and draped it around his body.

"Come on, Weasley. Time to get up."

"Too early . . . going back to sleep," Ginny mumbled, rolling over the other way and closing her eyes once more. She was not ready to get up just yet.

"It's nearly lunch time," Draco replied with a laugh.

"So."

"So if we don't go down now people are going to get more than a little suspicious, don't you think?"

Ginny said nothing in reply. She was conveniently pretending to be asleep, even though it was impossible for anyone to fall asleep in so little time.

"You've got three seconds to get up before I make you get out of that bed myself. I'm not having all of Hogwarts think I took advantage of you – which is what they will think."

"You wouldn't dare," Ginny muttered, momentarily forgetting whom she was talking to.

Of course, if she had been a bit more coherent, she would have realised that Draco was not like the other boys and had no qualms in annoying her. Indeed, when she felt the blankets being ripped away from her and arms wrap around her body, she could only let out an indignant squeak before she was picked up in his arms.

"That's not fair!" Ginny complained, giving his arm a furious swipe.

He laughed. "I never said I was fair."

"Put me down!" Ginny ordered, though she would be a complete liar if she admitted that she didn't enjoy being held by him.

Still chuckling, Draco placed her on the ground and took a step back to sit on the bed himself. "Well, at least you're up now, and there's no point going back to bed."

Ginny glared mutinously at him before slowly and painfully making her way to where Draco had left her belongings. Shoes, jacket, gloves and hat were all put on their correct places, and then she was once more glaring at the blond sitting on the bed. He was watching her with an amused expression on his face, which only made her all the more irritated. Why was it that she always seemed to be a source of amusement to him?

"I'm up," Ginny said in anything but happy tones. "Satisfied?"

Draco smirked at her and then walked towards the door. Ginny frowned at the messy bed and cauldron.

"Aren't you going to clean the room up?" she asked curiously.

He shook his head and opened the door. "No, the room will clean itself."

She frowned, not really sure what he meant until she followed him out of the room and realised where they had been sleeping. It was the Room of Requirement. It was then that she realised he must have carried her up here, and she couldn't help but glance at Draco in some astonishment. Had he really carried her up seven flights of stairs?

Oblivious to her thoughts, Draco gestured for her to follow him. "Come on, Weasley. If we hurry, we can get to lunch without causing too much of a scene."

Ginny nodded and followed him down the stairs to the Great Hall, privately wondering why Draco had gone through so much effort for her. He had always been a selfish and spoilt brat (and, when she thought about it, he still was), but there was no denying that she had a lot to be grateful for from him. She did have to wonder about one thing, though . . .

"Um, Draco."

"Yeah."

"What happened last night? You know, after I fainted."

Draco sighed and stopped on the stairs. She could see the troubled frown on his lips and knew that whatever had happened was something she would not like to hear. She needed to know, though. She needed to know so that she could move on.

"Please just tell me," she persisted. "I promise I won't get angry."

He stared at her for a moment and proceeded to tell her everything that had happened last night (leaving out the details that concerned himself, of course). Ginny said nothing as she listened, feeling rather mixed about the whole thing. In a way, she was happy for Pansy and Blaise, yet she was also incredibly upset. She was no saint, and it would be nigh impossible to forgive Pansy and Blaise just because they had realised their love for each other. After all, it didn't change the fact that Pansy had purposely tried to break them up while Blaise had lied to her about the poem.

"I'm sorry, Weasley," Draco said finally.

She met his gaze and saw the genuine concern he felt for her. Somehow, it made her feel better, and she even managed to give him a small smile.

"It's okay," she sighed. "It's not like I can do anything about it now, and maybe it's better this way. Obviously, it would never have worked out between us."

Though that wasn't really comforting. More depressing, really.

He nodded his head, reluctant to comment too much on the matter. Ginny decided she would not think about it anymore, as it only made her angry.

She gave him a bright smile. "Come on, let's go get lunch. I'm famished!"

**OOOO**

Once they entered the Great Hall, they split up their separate ways to go to their own tables and Ginny was surprised to find herself in a much better mood. Even if she was royally pissed off at both Pansy and Blaise, she found herself thinking about much pleasanter things – like a certain blond Slytherin who, by the looks of things, was currently having an argument with Crabbe and Goyle. She still couldn't believe that he had spent the whole night looking after her, and felt somewhat special that he had. It was a nice feeling.

"Where were you last night?" Hermione asked while piling up some salad on her plate. "I didn't see you come back into the common room, and I noticed you weren't in your dorm this morning."

Ginny glanced at the array of food and decided toast would be the best choice for her lunch. She glanced at her friend, who was sitting on the bench next to her, and gave a casual shrug. "I wasn't feeling well, so Draco took me to the Room of Requirement to sleep, since he doesn't know our password and couldn't take me into his own dorm."

"Draco? What happened to Blaise?"

Ginny sighed, but she knew that everyone would figure it out sooner or later, so she gave a very rough rendition of what had happened during the date, trying hard to keep her voice even so as not to reveal how truly upset she was. Hermione exclaimed in shock at all the right moments, and expressed great anger at all the others.

"Well, that's all very well for Blaise and Pansy to realise they like each other, but that's no excuse for the way he treated you!"

Ginny shrugged again and bit into her toast. "I can't do anything about it, and, to be honest, I don't even want to talk about him right now. It just makes me so mad!"

Hermione nodded sympathetically. "He's acted like an idiot, but you can't let him hold you down, Ginny. You've still got plenty of other chances for love."

"_Right_. Who's going to like me now? I think I'm cursed, I really do. It seems like every person I date likes someone else. Maybe I'll just give up this romance business and go and be a nun."

"Now, Ginny, don't start getting dramatic," Hermione chided with a laugh. "You know very well you're not cursed, and I don't think you want to be a nun."

"No, I don't," Ginny admitted with a sigh. "I'm just so sick of everything. Two failed romances in a few months is not exactly an achievement I'm proud of."

"Well, you know what they say: third time's the lucky charm."

"Hmph," was all Ginny managed to say.

But as her eyes drifted back to the blond Slytherin sitting on the other side of the hall, she couldn't help but hope the stupid saying was right.


	21. The SheWeasel and the Ferret

**The She-Weasel and the Ferret**

It had been a week since Ginny had broken up with Blaise. Ginny could now look upon him and Pansy with only the smallest pang of pain, which she thought was quite good of her, considering the situation. It wasn't that she still liked Blaise; in fact, she realised she had never really liked the amber-eyed boy romantically. He had always been a good friend to her, and while their relationship was a little strained now, she didn't doubt that, given time, they would be back to joking with each other just like they used to. The main problem was that he had lied in order to get her to date him. It was that more than anything that made her angry, for Ginny had just as much pride as the next person. She still hadn't figured out who had actually written the poem either – Draco always got rather distant and vague whenever it was mentioned, and Hermione only smiled in an annoying way, which told Ginny that both of them knew very well who had written it.

Ginny was having a hard time forgiving Pansy, but then she had never really liked Pansy to begin with, so she didn't feel the need to try very hard. Draco seemed to find this amusing, but Ginny would not be moved from her standpoint. The girl had purposely sabotaged her relationship with Blaise, and it didn't matter if Ginny had never really liked Blaise, or that Blaise and Pansy were now very happily dating . . .

Okay, so maybe she was being a little unfair, but she never said she was a saint.

Ginny sat down on one of the benches with a sigh and stared out into the frosted grounds, watching the students running around and throwing snowballs at each other. Two, in particular, caught her eye. There was Hermione walking hand-in-hand with Harry, both looking very pink in the face from the cold, but happy nonetheless. Hermione dropped his hand and leant against his shoulder, and Ginny watched with a smile as Harry placed an arm around her waist and gave her a small kiss on her forehead.

"Ah, young love," Ginny murmured, watching the two pass from her vision.

She sounded (and looked) just like an old woman reflecting on fonder days, all huddled up in her warm clothes and sitting by herself on the bench while watching the couples walk around her in the snow. Someone else seemed to agree, for a familiar drawl was soon to be heard from behind her:

"You know, if I didn't know any better, Weasley, I'd say you were turning into an old spinster right before my eyes."

Ginny laughed and turned her head, greeting the familiar smirk with a smile. "With my luck in love, I wouldn't be surprised."

Draco chuckled and took a seat next to her on the bench. "Given up on romance then, have you? I'm surprised; I always pegged you for the hopeless romantic."

She shrugged and, because it seemed only natural to do, leaned against his shoulder for warmth. "I guess I am. I don't think anyone else would be silly enough to like a guy just because he wrote a poem for her, let alone be taken in like that." She grimaced slightly. "I still can't believe he lied to me, and you, you big meanie, still won't tell me who wrote the poem. I know you know who wrote it!"

Draco glanced down at her, meeting her eyes for just a moment before he looked away. "Does it really matter who wrote it? It was just a poem. Besides, wouldn't you rather like someone because of who they are instead of how romantically they can write?"

Ginny shrugged again and snuggled up closer to him, grabbing his arm and wrapping it around her for extra warmth. For anyone who was watching, they would have looked like the perfect couple, but for Ginny these things just seemed natural to do with him. He made her feel so comfortable, and even though she knew very well that she liked him, there was no awkwardness in being close to him. If anything, it made her only want to be even closer.

"I guess," she agreed. "I'm just curious, really. Trust me, I'm not about to make the same mistake twice."

He smiled and pushed the fiery strands of hair away from her pink-tinged cheeks with his gloved hand. "I'm glad. I'd hate to see you hurt again."

Warm fluttering started in her stomach and her heart felt suddenly so much bigger as she looked up into his face. His cheeks were pink like hers, and there was snow sprinkled in his hair, but it was the genuine affection in his grey eyes that caught her attention. There was something so soothing about that look, and she wished he could always look at her like that. She couldn't think of when it was she had first started liking him, or even why she did, but now all she could think of was how _much_ she did – especially when faced with that gentle expression. If only she could know if he liked her back. She was so afraid of ruining their friendship that she didn't even want to mention it, but sometimes she thought he might return her feelings; sometimes, when he would look at her like this, she could almost believe he loved her.

"I never knew you cared so much," she said softly, her eyes still locked on his.

"Of course I care about you, Ginny."

She smiled and lowered her face to hide her blush, even though it was so cold he probably would not have noticed anyway. It wasn't just his words that made her feel suddenly bashful; it was his use of her first name. She had noticed that he only used her first name when he was being serious. This had been easy to tell, as he had only called her 'Ginny' about three times now, and all of those had been serious moments. Now, to hear him use her name after saying he cared about her – well, it made a pleasant warmth settle in her stomach, and the small smile on her lips grew just that little more brighter.

"Come on," he said, pulling her up off the bench. "We'd better go back inside before we freeze to death. I'm not having your brothers murder me because I let you turn into a Weasley popsicle."

She laughed and followed him across the grounds. "No better than your mum killing me for letting you turn into a Malfoy popsicle. I always thought my mum was formidable, but your mum sure knows how to take 'over-attached' to the extreme."

Draco laughed. "Yeah, she does. But I'm her only child, so I guess she kind of has an excuse."

"I suppose. Oh! I completely forgot!"

He frowned and looked at her curiously, hands stuffed in his coat pockets. "What?"

"Your mum wanted me to come and have tea with her."

"Really?"

She nodded, brushing against him slightly as they walked because of their close proximity. "Yeah. I'm kind of nervous. Your mum only knew me when I was pretending to be you. I don't know what I'm going to talk to her about at all."

He shrugged and gave her an amused smile. "You probably won't be doing much talking. My mother likes to talk."

"Is that where you get it from, then?" Ginny asked cheekily, and just managed to dodge Draco's playful push.

She giggled and scooped up a handful of snow, throwing it rather haphazardly towards him, and watched as it hit him right in the chest. He seemed a bit surprised and then just started laughing before picking up his own snowball and throwing it at her. They continued on in this fashion, throwing snowballs at each other, and laughing and cursing when they got hit, oblivious to the fact that the grounds were beginning to empty until they were the only ones left.

"Okay, okay! Stop!" Ginny exclaimed, feeling the snow sinking into her clothes and making her feel uncomfortably cold. "You don't want me to be a popsicle, remember?"

He laughed and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her waist as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Then I'll just have to keep you warm."

Ginny could feel her face heating even through the cold and suddenly felt very nervous. Their faces were close, the chilly air making their breath visible as they stared at each other while the silent seconds ticked on, and the snow fluttered around them in white flakes. Her heart quickened in fearful excitement, and she couldn't help but wonder if that small gap would close between them, wishing rather than hoping that it would. But then he seemed to come to his senses and abruptly let her go.

"We should go back inside," he mumbled, and quickly kept walking towards the castle.

Ginny remained where she was, still feeling her heart pounding hard in her chest, not really sure what to think or do. Her mind seemed to snap back into rational thought, and she ran to catch up with him.

"Wait!" she called.

He stopped and waited for her, and she once more fell into step with him. She looked up at him as they walked side-by-side and gave him a somewhat subdued and shy smile, which he returned with his own tight smile. Nothing was said, but something had changed between them, though neither Draco nor Ginny were quite ready to admit it, still feeling the natural embarrassment of two teenagers who had almost kissed.

**OOOO**

Once Draco and Ginny had split their separate ways, Draco headed back to the Slytherin common room, his mind filled with thoughts of the red-haired girl he had held in his arms only moments before. He hadn't known what had come over him back there. Somehow, just being with her like that had made him forget all about how she had only just broken up with his best friend and that things were still rough for her. All he'd been able to think about was how adorable she had looked with her cheeks all pink and that smile on her face. He'd wanted nothing more than to kiss her, and for one dangerous moment he almost had.

"Stupid," he muttered, feeling like such an idiot for wearing his heart on his sleeve.

A small voice in his head pointed out that she hadn't seemed to mind, but Draco was almost afraid to believe it. Ginny was everything he wanted in a girl, and even though she annoyed him more than he would like, he couldn't seem to hold it against her. In a way, it only added to her charm.

A smile came to his face as he thought of the spunky redhead. There was no way he could not like her. She was graceless, almost always said the wrong thing, had no idea when to just shut up, fell into trouble after trouble . . . and yet he was crazy about her. The way she laughed, the way she would smile at him – even the very fact that she was not perfect and did not pretend to be. That was what made Ginny Weasley the most adorable and silliest girl he had ever met. Yes, he was indeed crazy about her. Crazy and hopelessly in love.

Draco entered his common room and was greeted with the usual friendly faces, but he was in no mood to chat to his friends. He walked past the Slytherins and went upstairs to get changed, all the while wondering what he could do about Ginny. He cared about her so much, but, like her (though he didn't know it), he was afraid of ruining things between them. They had so much going for them, and somehow it seemed so frightening to tell her how he felt, even though he'd never had much trouble talking to girls before. It was ridiculous, but he just couldn't seem to bring himself to the point of actually speaking his feelings.

With Pansy, it had been so easy. But with Ginny – with Ginny, it was always difficult. He knew that Hermione had said she liked him, but he was still afraid to believe it. It was just so strange. So strange and so frustrating.

He sighed and collapsed on his bed, staring at the stone roof with a frown on his face. There had to be something he could do. He wasn't sure how long he could handle just watching her from afar and not being able to kiss and hold her like he wanted. She certainly didn't help matters either by being so close with him. He was sure she didn't like to snuggle up to her other guy friends, and as confidence boosting as that was, he was still worried about actually telling her how he felt in case he was wrong. That was the thing with love: it made people nervous and lose all sense. Doubt and fear seemed to be a constant companion, and even though Draco could be very egotistical when he wanted, even he had his doubts when it came to romance.

The door opened and Pansy walked in. She walked over and sat next to him on the bed, a small frown on her lips. "You know Draco," she began quietly. "I've never seen you like this before. What happened?"

Draco let out a heavy sigh. "I almost kissed Ginny."

Pansy blinked, clearly not expecting the answer. "And what did she do?"

"She didn't do anything. I, um, kind of ran away," Draco admitted with a blush, feeling suddenly really stupid.

What if he had just kissed her? At least he would have known where he'd stood, but instead he had got scared and ran away like a little girl. Still, she had asked him to wait, so she couldn't have been angry, but then what if that was because she didn't care and didn't want to embarrass him?

Pansy seemed to notice that Draco was having a mental argument with himself, for she snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, forcing his gaze to focus back on her.

"Stop talking yourself into circles and tell me everything," she commanded.

So Draco did. It was rather embarrassing for him, but he figured that he had nothing to lose. Besides, Pansy would never leave him alone if he didn't tell her.

Once he had finished telling what had happened out in the snowy grounds, he was surprised to see Pansy glare at him. He didn't know what she could possibly be angry about, but that was soon made apparent.

"I can't believe you haven't seen it!" she exclaimed in exasperation.

"Huh?"

Pansy rolled her eyes at his less than eloquent answer. "Draco, the girl is crazy about you! I'm telling you that no girl treats her guy friends that way. You two are as bad as each other!"

"What? Are you sure?"

If Pansy was telling the truth, he had no choice but to accept that Hermione had been right and that he had been stupidly blind not to have seen it himself. It also meant that pulling away from Ginny had to have been the dumbest thing he had ever done in all his sixteen years.

"I'm damn sure," Pansy responded, "and you, you idiot, could have just ruined the only chance you had with Weasley. You do know that she's probably in her room right now arguing with herself about whether you actually like her or not."

"Well, of course I like her! I wouldn't want to kiss her if I didn't."

"Yes, but she doesn't know that," Pansy said reasonably. "You know what you need to do, don't you?"

"What?"

"Go and tell her, of course!"

Draco frowned. It was the logical thing to do, and though he still felt nervous, deep down he knew he had to do it. He had put Ginny through a lot, and now it was up to him to get the mess sorted.

"You're right." He stood up off the bed and grabbed his jacket and scarf, throwing them on haphazardly, and looking surprisingly messy for one so vain. Right now his appearance seemed of little consequence, however.

"Of course I'm right," Pansy replied with a smug smile on her face. "Now go."

He nodded and all but ran out of the room. There was only one person on his mind right now, and she was currently sitting seven floors above him, having much the same conversation with Hermione Granger that he had just been having with Pansy.

**OOOO**

"Come on, Ginny," Hermione exclaimed with an impatient sigh. "You just have to tell him. He's probably worried about approaching you because you just broke up with Blaise."

"Do you think that was it?" Ginny asked hopefully, having just spent the past half-hour arguing with herself into believing that Draco didn't like her.

"_Yes_. I know very well that he likes you, Ginny," Hermione said quite firmly, having heard from Draco's own lips that he did like the redhead. She also knew that Draco had been the one to write the poem, and was contemplating telling Ginny so when a great commotion sounded from downstairs.

"That sounds like Ron," Ginny said with a frown.

Hermione shared a puzzled glance with the redhead and walked to the door to see what was going on. "It seems like Ron is throwing a fit about something."

_"I don't care if you want to boil my head in Snape's cauldron, Weasley. I have to speak to Ginny!"_

_"Oho, _Ginny_,__ is it? Since when did you two become so close to be on first name basis?"_

_"Oh, shut the hell up and get out of my way before I remove you myself. Blaise may let you walk all over him, but I bloody well won't, now _move_!"_

Ginny stared at Hermione in surprise. "That has to be Draco."

"You'd better go to him before a war starts out down there," Hermione advised with a smile.

Ginny nodded and quickly scrambled up off the bed and dashed down the stairs, bursting into the common and pushing past everyone who was crowding around the portrait hole. She could see Ron outside, blocking Draco from getting in, and felt her hackles rise. This was one time too many.

"Ron! Get out of the way!" Ginny yelled, scrambling through the portrait hole.

Ron turned and met her fierce gaze, and his own rage died as he realised his sister was about to get extremely angry if he did not comply.

"You're lucky she was here," Ron muttered darkly to Draco, and walked back into the common room.

Ginny glared at his retreating figure and closed the portrait behind her so that the other Gryffindors were shut out from the conversation.

"Sorry," she said more softly, facing Draco now, who was standing somewhat agitatedly before her. "You wanted to see me?"

"I, um—"

He cleared his throat, wondering why it was that her presence should make all his carefully planned speeches evaporate into nothing. He'd had it all thought out, but now he couldn't seem to remember anything that he had wanted to say. Somehow, 'I like you' didn't quite cut it.

"Yes?" Ginny prompted with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Well . . . I just wanted to tell you that I—"

Ginny frowned. Why was he hesitating again? All she wanted was to hear those words, to hear his feelings so she could tell him that she felt the same. She was just waiting for that moment, watching his face and silently pleading for him to just spit it out already. It was too horrible waiting in suspense like this.

"I, um . . ." He frowned, running an exasperated hand through his hair. "Oh, screw it," he muttered and closed the distance between them.

A deep sigh seemed to pass through Ginny's body when their lips touched, and her arms instantly curled around his neck as she responded to his kiss with all the passion she could muster. His hand rested against the back of her head, tilting her face towards him so he could kiss her better. His other hand came to rest on her lower back, pulling her closer to him so that the warmth of their bodies pressed against the other.

Ginny's mind was in a whirl. This was everything she had wanted and more. Her fantasies had never quite seemed to capture the fiery intensity that his kiss could make her feel, nor the desperate need for him to do more – so much more. She'd never experienced anything like it before, and she thought she could have happily continued kissing him for the rest of her life were it not for the fact that it suddenly became imperative to breathe.

Draco pulled his lips away, resting his head against her forehead and closing his eyes. "I should have done that a long time ago," he mumbled, causing Ginny to let out a small laugh.

"Yes, you should have," she agreed, pulling her face away.

His eyes softened with that rare gentleness she loved so much, and he caressingly moved the strands of red away from her face. "I like you, Ginny. I like you a lot."

She smiled and leaned up to give him a small kiss on the lips before wrapping her arms around him and leaning her face against his chest. "I like you too, Draco."

"I suppose you wouldn't mind being my girlfriend, then?"

"I suppose I could do that," she grinned.

They both laughed before he once more closed the gap between them to kiss her again, though this time much more tenderly. Ginny had never felt happier, and as she leaned against him, she suddenly realised something she should have figured out a long time ago.

"It was you that wrote that poem, wasn't it?"

Draco was silent for a moment. "Yeah, it was."

"I'm glad."

He looked down at her, still holding her in his arms. "Oh? I thought you said you weren't going to let poems make you like people."

She laughed lightly. "Well, it was a really nice poem, and it just makes it all the better knowing it came from you."

"I hope you don't expect any more," Draco responded. "I'm afraid I've retired from the love poem business."

"That's okay. I have something better than words now."

She had him, and as she leaned up to kiss him again, she knew she always would.

**OOOO**

Ginny dashed down the hallway, still trying to get her jumper on her head, and all the while muttering furiously about early Quidditch practises and how much she detested Harry. She suddenly collided into someone and stumbled backwards while the person she had banged into groaned in pain.

"The hell? Watch where you're bloody going!"

"Oh, Merlin, not again," Ginny muttered, and pulled the jumper down just in time to see Draco burst out laughing. She blushed and gave him a half-hearted slap on his arm. "Shut up."

"I should have known it would be you," Draco said, amused. "Only you are mental enough to run around with a jumper on your head."

"Yeah, well you're the only one too arrogant to move when people come running at you."

They both grinned at each other, each knowing that not so many months ago Ginny's jumper escapades had produced a very different reaction. Times change, however, as do people, and this was certainly true for Draco and Ginny.

"Hey, Draco," Blaise called, walking towards the two with a sheepish Crabbe following behind.

"What?" Draco asked, glancing at his friend.

"You know that book you and Ginny found in the library – the one that talked about how you switched bodies."

"Yeah."

"Well, I found the missing page."

"Really?" Ginny exclaimed. "Where did you find it?"

Crabbe shuffled forward, holding a dog-eared _Super Slytherin_ comic book in his held it out to Draco, who opened it and saw a single piece of parchment, which looked very familiar, pressed up against the binding.

"You've been using it as a bookmark?" Draco demanded, glowering at his friend.

Crabbe nodded.

"You mean that whole time we were trying to figure out what had happened to us, you had the answer sitting in your _Super Slytherin_ comic book all along?"

"I didn't know!" Crabbe cried, shame-faced. "I never even read the page. I just wanted a bookmark, and that book happened to be sitting on my table."

Ginny placed her head in her hands, though she looked as if she was desperately trying not to laugh. Draco, on the other hand, looked more than a little annoyed. He read the mangled parchment and then gave an inelegant snort.

"What?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Apparently we're 'meant to be', Ginny."

"Huh?"

She snatched the paper from his hands and read it herself. There was a lot of waffling about planet alignments and magical intervention spells, which was frankly confusing, but the basic gist of it was that Fate had sensed that she and Draco were unable to overcome their differences and had decided to take matters into its own hands, for it was pre-destined that they would play an important part in each other's lives.

"There never had been a way to break the spell," she said after a moment, glancing back at Draco. "It was up to us to fix it all along."

"Well, at least we succeeded with that," Draco grumbled. "Though Blaise nearly ruined it by putting his nose in where it didn't belong."

"Excuse me," Blaise said loftily, "I was the one who made you both realise how much you like each other. Really, you should be thanking me."

"Sure, sure," Ginny replied, rolling her eyes at him. "Next you'll be asking me to thank you for lying to me about that poem as well."

"Come on, Ginny? Haven't we moved on from that yet?"

"Ask me again in fifty years," Ginny said dryly.

Draco grinned and placed his arm around her waist. "That's my girl."

Crabbe, who had been trying to get Draco's attention for the past five minutes so he could get his comic book back, sighed and placed his chin in his hands.

"Everyone always ignores me," he said glumly.

"Watch it, fatty!" Millicent Bullstrode snapped, barrelling past him.

"Who are you calling fatty, Bullstrode?" Crabbe retorted, flushing. "You're the fatty!"

"What did you say?" Millicent snarled, turning on him with her teeth bared.

Crabbe clenched his hands into fists. "You heard me! I'm sick of you calling me fat. I have feelings too, you know."

"Oh, did I hurt the ickle fatty's feelings?" Millicent cooed. "Too bad!"

Crabbe gritted his teeth as he watched her stalk away, hating every inch of her large, womanly body.

In the faraway regions of the magical world, Fate's eyes lit up with a wicked grin.

* * *

**A/N: That's the end, and I really do hope you enjoyed it. It's been a long ride, but I hope you found it just as fun as I did. Thank you for the reviews, the support, and, more importantly, for reading! You've all been wonderful, and I'm quite serious when I say I couldn't have finished it without you.**


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